We're The Outsiders
by Myra109
Summary: Leo Valdez is sick of it. Sick of being ignored and feeling unloved. So, he runs away and meets the Outsiders gang. He thought that he'd escaped his chaotic life, minus a few monster attacks, until Johnny killed a Soc. Will this event bring the seven back together or pull them further apart? Language, assault, murder, depression, PTSD, etc.
1. Back Up and Run Away

_Hi! This is the first chapter of We're the Outsiders! This is set in modern day._

 _ALSO, I'M DOING ANOTHER POLL WITH SOME HALLOWEEN STORIES. PLEASE VOTE, AND DON'T WORRY, IT WILL NOT HINDER MY ABILITY TO UPDATE THIS STORY._

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing_**

 ** _WARNINGS: LANGUAGE, DEPRESSION_**

* * *

 _Flames soared high, smoke assaulting his senses. Yet, he forged on towards the screaming that originated near the back of the church, the sobbing of children._

 _"Pony, Leo, they're in here!" An African American boy with black eyes, covered in soot, shouted as he kicked down a door. The screeches grew louder but the sizzling and crackling of the fire almost drowned them out. "Calm down, we're going to get you out."_

 _They raced in, dodging falling debris, and Leo saw a group of seven or eight kids, all under seven years old, standing against the back wall. The Latino punched a boarded up window, ignoring the pain that sparked in his fist._

 _A voice yelled, "Get out of there! Forget those god damn kids!"_

 _The trio didn't pay any attention to the command. They lifted the small children and dropped them out of the window. Leo heard a yelp and assumed that one of the kids had bit the blonde kid that was with them._

 _The last kid was out and Leo grabbed his friends by the collars and tossed them out of the burning building. He vaguely saw a tall, muscular teenager slap the blonde's back, which had combust into orange hot flames, and the younger collapsed. A thump sounded as the boy hit the ground, unconscious. The black eyed kid stumbled and fell, coughing as he sat on the ground. The teenager knelt beside the African American child and began to shake him, pounding him on the back while casting brief glances to the blonde on the ground._

 _"AHHH!" A falling piece of timber hit his back and luckily, Leo didn't think that his back broke but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt like Hades. A snap scared him as pain rushed through his wrist like acid._

 _"Leo!" The teenager called and then hands were grabbing his shoulders and hauling the demigod through the window. "Damn it!" Then, the roof fell and everything faded to black._

* * *

 ***A month and a half earlier***

Leo strolled through camp, his hands fiddling with multi colored wires and small pieces of metal. He smiled his usual cheery grin whenever he passed people, but when nobody was looking, his eyes would become sad, haunted, and an expression of loneliness would cross his face. He'd tried almost everyone, but no one had the 'time' or the 'patience' to deal with him.

First, he'd walked in on Percy and Annabeth kissing with their clothes half on, half off. Now, he had a new bruise from Annabeth's shoe being tossed in his direction. Hey, it was their fault for not locking the door.

Second, he'd tried talking to Frank and Hazel, but they obviously didn't want him around. Leo hadn't taken the hint and eventually, Frank had yelled at him, saying that they wanted to be alone, and the Latino left. He now held a very colorful opinion of the son of Mars.

Thirdly, he'd heard Jason and Piper talking about him before he'd even walked up to them.

"Why won't Leo leave us alone? Doesn't he understand that we need space?" Piper had rolled her eyes and Jason had placed a comforting arm around his girlfriend's shoulders.

"I agree with you, Piper, but after all, we are his only friends."

Leo had stormed away. He'd tried his siblings, but they were so busy with their projects that they had brushed him off like an irritating insect. He'd made his decision. He needed to leave.

Leo skipped dinner that night to pack. He'd talked to a Hectate kid, Micheal, that hated him and would love nothing more than to see Leo gone. Mike had given Leo a bottomless backpack and had kicked him out of the cabin after he had told him, "Hope you get eaten by a monster, Valdez."

The Latino threw all of his clothes, a reasonable amount of food, a water bottle, a dagger, 500 dollars worth of mortal money and 100 drachmas (perks of being friends with the Hermes kids) into his bag. Then, he sat at his work desk and wrote on a small lined piece of paper.

 **Dear whoever cares enough to read this,**

 **Ever since I was young, people hated my personality, my corny jokes, my pranks, everything about me. People used to tell me that someday my fire would burn out and I'd be left as a dull shell. Maybe that day has come, but I'm not sure. All I know is that if I stay, that statement will become reality.**

 **I don't know where I'm going to go, but I can't stay here until I finally break. No one cares and I'm done with people pretending that they do.**

 **Percy, Annabeth- I'm sorry for being a burden, for being an annoying pest. For always getting in the way. I hope without me here, you can heal from your ordeal without me constantly being insensitive. Goodbye.**

 **Hazel, Frank- I'm sorry for reminding you of Sammy, Hazel. I'm sorry for hitting on your girlfriend, Frank. I'll get out of the way of your relationship. For what it's worth, I do want the best for both of you and the best thing for me to do is leave.**

 **Jason, Piper- I'm sorry for being the third wheel in our 'friendship'. You're better together. Lightning superman and persuasive beauty queen, both strong and brave and clever. What am I? Nothing, just Repair Boy, worthless mechanic. With me gone, you'll be happy. Goodbye.**

 **To my siblings- I'm sorry I failed as head councilor and brother. I can't be as good role model for Harley. Nyssa's a better mechanic than I am. Jake's the smart one. I put all of you and the entire camp in danger. I love all of you and I hope that your lives will only get better from here.**

 **Leo Valdez (LV)**

And then, Leo Valdez picked up his bag and left Camp Half Blood. For good.

* * *

Later that night, the Hephaestus Cabin filed in for the night. They laid on their beds, but Nyssa couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. After an hour of just staring at the ceiling, she finally sat up and that's when she noticed that Leo Valdez's bed was vacant.

That was odd. She stood and walked over to the head councilor's bed, where she found a note laying on top of the blanket. Picking it up, Nyssa read the words and the note fluttered to the ground. Then, she sobbed.

She cried and cried and continued to bawl even after a hand was placed on her shoulder. The paper was lifted off of the floor and out of her vision.

"Nys?" Jake whispered, but then, he jumped when Shane too began to weep. "Shane, what does it say?" He snatched it away from the younger and read it aloud. "I have to show this to Chiron." He left but everyone was too busy crying to notice.

Everyone tried to deny it, but they all knew the truth. Leo Valdez, brother, friend, hero, joker, was gone.

* * *

 _More of a prologue than anything, but next chapter, it starts to get more interesting._


	2. Two Bit Gets Revenge and Leo Gets Help

_If you have not already, please check out my POLL on my profile. I'm trying to decide what Halloween story to post. The summaries are in my bio. Please vote for the one you'd like to see posted._

 _ **Disclaimer: I own nothing**_

 _ **WARNINGS: LANGUAGE, ASSAULT, BLOOD, UNDERAGE DRINKING**_

* * *

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Chiron, it's him. I know it!"

"How did he get to Oklahoma from New York and get mixed up with two juvenile delinquents in a matter of a few weeks?"

"I don't know, Chiron, but it's him and we need to find him quickly."

"All right. Normally, I don't do this to find a runaway demigod, but since you are searching for a hero of Olympus, I find it necessary. Come back to me with your companions. Go."

The blonde walked out, a slight bounce in his step, of the Big House to where his friends were standing.

"What is it?" A tom boy with oil covered clothes demanded.

Jason grinned, much to the suprise of Nyssa, Harley, and the seven. "I think we just found the key to finding Leo."

* * *

A scrawny boy with brown curls and an elfish face hopped onto a bus, handing his ticket to the driver before slowly walking to the back of the vehicle.

This boy was Leo Valdez, a son of Hesphestus with brown eyes darting back and forth at the passengers, suspiciously. A dark backpack was slung over his shoulder and he wore jeans and a green hoodie. The hood was up, obscuring the kid's tan face from view as he sat in the seat before the last and pressed his forehead against the window.

Fingers bounced up and down on his leg as he considered his possibilities. The money he'd spent could only take him as far as Tulsa, Oklahoma and he needed to lay low. He still had at least four hundred dollars left to spend on food and shelter until he could get a job and construct a new life. He could spend some nights in a sewer, a few in a cheap motel, a few under bridges. It wasn't the best, but when you're a runaway, you learn not to get picky.

The bus rumbled along on the way to his new life and somewhere along the way, Leo fell asleep.

* * *

When he awoke, he looked out at the nearby sign that read, "Welcome to Tulsa, Oklahoma." The bus was pulling to a stop and Leo picked up his bag before getting off with the other passengers. He'd have to find some place to stay for the night, but where would he-

Leo froze. It was almost two in the morning and the roads were oddly vacant and silent in this town. Apparently, he'd lived in the town that never sleeps for so long that he'd forgotten how calm other towns could be. He'd froze and was holding his breath, but footsteps traveling on the pavement and heavy breathing met his ears, yet when he turned back, no one was there.

Speeding up slightly, Leo began to fast walk away from there just in case a monster decided that he wanted roasted Valdez for lunch.

"Hey, grease!" A voice shouted and Leo turned. A group of guys with plaid shirts and nice blue jeans without one hole or misplaced stitch stood on the road. There were three of them and the one in the lead was fairly handsome with brown hair, blue eyes, and heavy rings on one hand. His tone was slurred and the scent radiating off of them reminded Leo of every alcoholic foster parent he'd ever had. At first, they looked arrogant and ready to pick a fight, but that aura soon turned to confusion.

"Never seen him before," the one on the right of the leader murmured.

"Yeah," the one that hadn't spoken agreed. "What's your name?"

Leo opened his mouth, but the leader cut him off. "Who cares? He's a Greaser either way! Get him, guys!"

Leo ran and they chased him clear into a nearby neighborhood. The boy continued to sprint away from the gaining teens until...

"Ha! Gotcha!" A hand caught Leo by the hood of his sweatshirt and then, he was tossed into a brick wall and lathered with punches and kicks. The demigod was moments away from passing out when they stopped. People were talking, but it was all fuzzy and then, Leo lost his grip on consciousness. He fell into darkness.

* * *

Two Bit stumbled through the streets, half way between sober and drunk, when he heard the screaming. Swinging himself around the corner, he found three Socs beating up a scrawny kid in an alley way. The boy looked bad off, covered in bruises and scratches, but, for better or worse, he was still conscious.

"Get off of him!" Two Bit shouted, breaking the end of his beer bottle on the wall and pointing it at the rich kids. "What'd he ever do to you?"

"He's a grease," the leader slurred and drew back his fists, which Two Bit noticed with rage, had rings on the fingers.

He didn't think. The joker grabbed the leader by the collar and punched him with a satisfying crunch as the bastard's nose broke.

"That was for Johnny!" The other Socs had already split and Two Bit dropped the leader before rushing to the now unconscious kid's side. "Damn."

The kid looked even worse up close. There were scratches from the guy's rings on his face and he had a black eye, fat lip, and blood gushed from his nose. Blood had soaked through his jacket and his hands were bleeding from fighting back. If Two Bit hadn't shown up, who knows what would have happened?

"Come on, kid." Two Bit threw the boy over his shoulder and rushed towards the only people he knew that would help, regardless of money, status, or criminal record. The Curtis'.

* * *

Apparently, everyone was pissed at everyone that night. Darry was lying in his bed, fast asleep, as he tried to get a good night's rest for the first time in a week full of late nights. Sodapop was snoring softly in his own bed with Ponyboy staring at a nearby wall; even when he slept with Soda, he was still an insomniac and had trouble falling and staying asleep. Steve was sprawled across the couch, passed out, while Dally dozed off in an armchair. Johnny had slipped in half way through the night, unbeknownst to the others, and had fallen asleep on the floor. If the bruise on his face was anything to go on, his father had been drunk and punched his son in the face.

Two AM was when Two Bit Matthews rushed in and shoved Steve Randall off the couch.

"Hey-" Steve stopped when he realized why Two Bit was so panicked. The elder had laid a boy on the couch and he was bloody, bruised, and scratched up and Steve was actually glad that the boy was unconscious.

The ordeal had woken Dally and Johnny, who Steve had fallen on top of when he was pushed off of the sofa. Ponyboy had rushed in, his red hair a mess and his pajamas rumpled, his face pale at the sight of the teenager on the couch. Not even Johnny had looked that bad.

Pony, breaking out of his shock, dashed into Darry's room and began to shake the elder awake. Least to say, the man was not pleased.

"Ponyboy, what the hell do you-" his younger brother cut him off when he yanked Darry off of the bed and dragged the half asleep male down the hall. Yet, when Darry saw the boy on the sofa, he woke up real quick.

The muscular man was at his side in a second and a bleary eyed Sodapop came loping down the hall. "What-"

"Soda, get the first aid kit! Steve, water! Dally, get some ice," Darry commanded, wiping some blood from the boy's face with his hand. The three scurried into action and Johnny and Ponyboy seated themselves beside the couch to help when the rest of the gang came rushing back in with the materials. Ponyboy wiped blood off of the boy with a wet dish towel and the dark skinned boy quickly set to disinfecting the cuts and scratches (with his dad and Socs, he had a lot of practice). Darry set to work on placing bandaids on the cleaned and disinfected cuts while the rest of the gang stood on the sidelines, unsure of what to do.

"Come on, guys, I gotta make sure his ribs aren't broken and treat the cuts on his chest. Help me," Darry instructed.

Dally, grateful for something to do, carefully removed the boy's sweatshirt and T-shirt before examining his torso.

"Well, good news: his ribs aren't broken, but I bet if Two Bit hadn't stepped in when he did, they would be," Dallas informed them.

Darry sighed and the trio repeated the process with his chest and stomach while the rest continued to stand around and twiddle their thumbs, nervously. When the crimson was washed away, the gang was left in shock at what was in store for them.

The teen's chest and stomach were covered with thick, ugly scars. Some were more recent, maybe a few months old, while others looked like they'd been there for years, and they crisscrossed all over his upper body.

"Um," Darry mumbled, "help me check his back."

Two Bit carefully leaned the boy up and nearly dropped him at the display upon the tan skin. More scars, some thin and fading while others were thick and horrible, lathered his back, but the worst part was the word 'FREAK' written across his upper back. A little bit higher and the blade would have sliced his neck.

The normally emotionless Curtis swallowed thickly. "Um, good news is the Socs mostly left his back alone, so we can't really do anything there." They all noticed how he said can't instead of don't need to as he gazed in horror at the boy's battle scars.

The gang sat around for hours, waiting for the boy to wake up and finally, right after the sun had risen above the horizon, his eyes fluttered before opening and only then did they take in his whole appearance.

He was short, maybe five foot, three inches, and he was a lightweight, probably under ninety pounds. They'd replaced his shirt as to not arise suspicion and his ribs jutted out through the shirt. His hair was a chocolate brown color and was a curly mess. The boy's ears were pointed like an elf's and his brown eyes held this look that was hard to place or describe. On one hand, he had Johnny's weary orbs that looked at the world around him as if something may attack him at any moment. Then, there was Dally in there with a hardened look, yet his wasn't as strong as Dally's mask. The boy's still held some emotion while Dallas's never possessed any at all. They could even see a hint of Ponyboy's expression with an observant touch that made you feel like he was X-raying you and seeing straight into your soul. Finally, Sodapop's humorous and lively stare met their eyes and he looked from one person to the next with that mixed expression.

"Well," Two Bit broke the silence, "I'm Keith Matthews, but call me Two Bit."

"You saved me," the boy murmured in realization. "Thanks."

"Hey," Two Bit laughed, "my pleasure. That guy is a personal enemy of the group and I got to punch his lights out, so no need to thank me."

"I'm Steve Randall," the said teenager said simply. The boy nodded in greeting.

"And I'm Sodapop Curtis! These are my brothers, Darry and Ponyboy!" The blonde threw his arms around his siblings.

They all waited for the 'What?', 'you gotta be kidding me', or 'you're pulling my leg!' But it never came.

The boy smiled. "I've heard weirder names. Trust me on that one!"

The Curtis brothers looked relieved that no one questioned their names for once.

"I'm Dally. Just Dally," the boy introduced, looking at his fingernails, uninterested.

The boy smiled, good heartedly, but the suspicion didn't leave his eyes.

"And I'm Johnny," the teenager quietly whispered.

"So, what's your name?" Steve asked.

The boy hesitated before replying. "Leo, Leo Valdez."

* * *

 _Chapter 2!_

 _REVIEW! I command you!_

 _... I'm just kidding, but seriously, your reviews make my day._


	3. Lives Intertwined

_Sup? Oh, who am I kidding? I'm not cool. How's your day going?_

 _check out the poll on my profile! It's only up for so long._

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing_**

 ** _WARNINGS: LANGUAGE_**

* * *

It wasn't long before Leo was accepted into the gang. As he was healing, Darry allowed him to stay at his house and the gang members came to an agreement that they would ask Leo where he was from on the three day mark.

"Hey, Leo, where are you from? Won't your parents be worried about you?" Darry asked the Latino. Leo, Ponyboy, and Johnny, who had all become great friends over the past couple of days, were lounging on the couch while Darry sat in the arm chair. Dally leaned against the wall and Soda and Steve had paused their card game at the fold up table to hear the conversation. Two Bit had turned off the TV and had turned from his spot on the floor to face the gang.

Leo sighed. "One, I don't really have parents. My mom died when I was eight and I haven't seen my dad in months. Two, I ran away from my summer camp in New York and hitched a bus ride here."

Soda looked at him with wide eyes. "Well, where are you going to go?"

The son of Hephaestus shrugged. "A few nights in a cheap motel, a few in a sewer, anywhere until I can construct a new life really."

"You've really thought this through, haven't you?" Steve observed.

Leo smiled a half grin and shrugged his shoulders. "It's not my first rodeo."

The gang members exchanged glances and, without a single word, came to an agreement.

"Hey, Leo," Darry said, "how about you stay here until you can afford your own place?"

Leo's eyes widened and he almost choked on air. "Really? I'm sorry, Darry, but I can't possibly-"

"Sure, you can!" Sodapop laughed. "We have an extra bedroom that you could use."

"Are you sure? I mean I'd understand if-"

"Leo," Ponyboy said firmly, "we have plenty of room and we'd be glad to have you stay here."

"Besides," Darry added, "what kind of person would I be if I let a fourteen year old kid fend for himself on the streets of America?"

"How'd you know I was fourteen?" Leo asked.

Darry shrugged. "I was just guessing, really. Why?"

Leo laughed. "Well, I skipped two grades, so all of my friends assumed I was sixteen. They never asked, so it's kind of funny that you would guess that."

"You skipped two grades!" Two Bit exclaimed. "Oh my gosh, it's Ponyboy times two!"

Leo chuckled. "I'm not one of those know it all brainiacs, if that's what your worried about. My friends and foster parents didn't even know I skipped two grades, so obviously, I'm not rubbing it in their faces."

The gang laughed, except for Johnny, who had something bothering him.

"Hey, Leo," he finally got up the courage to ask, "When we were healing some of your injuries, we saw some scars. If you don't mind me asking, where did they come from?"

If anybody but Johnny had popped that question, they would have been smacked for being inconsiderate, despite their shared curiosity. Everyone looked at Leo.

He sighed and shrugged. "Well, some of them are from past foster homes and bullies, but the most recent ones are from this turf war we had at camp. It took them days to clean up the destruction and heal the wounded. I know I sound like I'm being dramatic, but trust me, I'm not."

"We believe you," Johnny confirmed. "After all, I got this scar from some Socs and you should see the parts of town ruined from our turf war in Tulsa." He pointed to the scar on his cheek and nodded.

"Well," Leo said, changing the topic, "thanks for letting me stay here."

"Of course, kid," Darry chuckled, "I don't know what it is about you, but I have a feeling you're going to make our lives even more interesting than they already are."

* * *

Later that night, Ponyboy Curtis was the only one awake. It was one of those rare nights when no one was crashing on the couch and one of the frequent nights when Pony couldn't sleep. Soda was snoring softly next to him and he heard no footsteps on the carpet, so he assumed Darry had long since passed out.

And that's when he heard it. Crying.

The red head snapped up in bed and climbed out from the cocoon of blankets, carefully avoiding Soda's sleeping form. Creeping down the hall to his old room, he heard muffled sobbing and whimpers from the other side of the door.

"Leo," he called softly, gently rapping on the wood. The crying didn't stop and no reply greeted him. Slowly, praying that this wouldn't be seen as an invasion of privacy, Pony twisted the door knob and opened the door.

Leo Valdez was still asleep, but he was tossing and turning admist the covers, his body coated with sweat. His face was streaked with tears and twisted into an expression of pure fear.

Pony began to shake him, calling his name softly, hoping that he didn't wake his brothers.

After a few moments, Leo shot up in bed with a cry of, "Jason!"

"Leo!" Pony said, quietly. "It's okay..."

Leo looked at him and for a second, he didn't seem to remember who he was before a flash of recognition passed over his face. "Pony, I'm sorry I woke you."

"I was actually already awake. I have insomnia, so sleep doesn't come easy to me."

Leo smiled a watery grin. "So do I. When I sleep, _that_ happens."

"Me too. It got to the point where it just seemed easier to never sleep whether than fight with those night terrors," Ponyboy agreed and then stopped short. He'd never told that to anyone, not even Sodapop.

"Yeah, I used to stay up all night and build until my half siblings tied me to my bed and told me if I didn't sleep, they'd take away my tool belt."

Pony laughed until he realized something. "Leo... why'd you run away? It seems like your siblings really care about you."

"Well, after the turf war, everyone was thrown for a loop. My siblings were so busy rebuilding that they forgot about me and even after we finished, they still didn't talk to me. The real reason I ran away, though, was when my best friends stopped talking to me. I don't know why, but we went months without one shared word. That hurt like crazy."

Pony hesitated. He had one more question but he was afraid to ask. "Who's Jason?"

Leo's head snapped up. "How'd you know-"

"You called out in your sleep."

Leo sighed. "Well, Jason is one of my best friends from camp. He got hurt during the turf war, spent months in the infirmary."

"Do you miss him?"

Leo thought about it for minute. "Yeah... but I'm sure he doesn't miss me."

"Why wouldn't he? If you're best friends-"

"Because his injury was my fault."

 ***FLASHBACK***

 _The Romans and Greeks had united forces against Gaea, but it was just barely enough. The seven had split up to help different groups, but Leo and Jason had somehow wound up beside each other on the battlefield._

 _The son of Hephaestus saw the sword man first, but he was so sure Jason had seen him too. No such luck._

 _A man in armor on Gaea's side snuck up behind the son of Jupiter, his sword raised high, ready to stab Jason in the back. A fatal blow._

 _When the blonde didn't turn to intercept the sword with his own, Leo shoved his friend to the ground, but the sword still met skin. Blood gushed from Jason's leg and he couldn't stand as he cried out in pain. Leo disarmed the man and slammed the butt of his sword against the man's helmet._

 _He knelt beside Jason, but the child of storm had long since lost consciousness._

 _Jason couldn't walk for three months after the battle, and the Healer said if the wound had gone any deeper, Jason would've been paralyzed._

 _Leo tried to convince himself that it wasn't his fault, but he didn't miss the accusatory glances and glares he received from Jason and his numerous friends. When people heard the story, he became even more of an outsider than before._

 _It wasn't long before Leo realized the truth. It **was** all his fault._

 ***END OF FLASHBACK***

Of course, Ponyboy got an altered version, but that didn't make it any less painful to tell.

"Leo, it's not your fault," Pony whispered. "If that switchblade had stabbed Jason in the back, he could be dead. Don't you think that he'd rather be paralyzed than dead?"

"Maybe, but I should have pushed him out of the way entirely and not just shoved him to the ground," Leo countered.

"You couldn't do anything without putting someone in danger, so please, just accept the fact that no one died and the worst injury was a limp and a few months in the hospital," Ponyboy pleaded.

Leo smiled. "You know, Ponyboy, you are pry the only one that has ever told me not to blame myself. I was blamed for the turf war, but turns out someone was using me to get at the camp. Don't ask. I was blamed when my friends went missing because... let's just say, I made a deal with the devil. I was blamed for what happened to Jason. This is a nice change."

Pony shrugged. "You shouldn't blame yourself for something out of your control."

"That's real wise, Pony," Leo whispered before glancing at the alarm clock and starting. "It's almost four AM. Geesh. Maybe we should try to get some sleep tonight."

Pony agreed and left to curl back up with Soda, and Leo laid there alone.

For the first time out of all of his escapes from foster homes, he missed things about Camp Half-Blood. He didn't miss the accusatory glances or the loneliness or the fact that he was overlooked and taken for granted.

But... he missed the feeling of his little brother, Harley, as he clung to Leo after a nightmare. He missed the way Nyssa slapped him if he said one bad thing about himself. He missed his pranking adventures with the Stolls and the feeling of warmth when someone (usually one of his siblings or the few close friends he had at camp, including the Stolls and Piper if she wasn't busy) would drag him out of his workshop when he got caught up in a project to socialize and eat something.

He shook his head. He couldn't get caught up in these memories; keep moving, keep forgetting. That was all he ever did.

* * *

On Olympus, three elderly ladies stared at the four strings in the center's hand, one a reddish brown; another a fiery orange; a third was such a dark brown that it appeared black; and the final one was an ocean blue.

"Darryl was right about one thing," one lady hissed. Her voice was like nails on a chalk board. "That Valdez boy is going to make their lives very interesting..."

She waved her hand and each strand reattached to their creations, four pairs of what appeared to be giant socks before tying the strings together to create a jumbled mess of blue, orange, reddish brown, and dark brown. But that's what fate was most of the time.

* * *

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Jason Grace sat alone in Cabin One, staring at a picture of him and Leo. The Latino had an arm slung across Jason's shoulders and they were caught mid laugh.

"You know, since I knew you, it was just you and Leo. Superman and Repair Boy," Percy voiced from the doorway as he cautiously stepped into Zeus's cabin. "You stuck by him after the eidolons, after the war, when he was being annoying... You stayed beside him through everything. Loyalty and friendship like that doesn't just vanish. We'll find him, Jason."

The blonde nodded and taped the picture back in the alcove, alongside his sister's photographs, and followed the Sea Prince to the Dining Pavillion. It was going to be discussed on what to do about Leo's whereabouts. Chiron had a soft spot for Leo; they all did, and Leo was incredibly powerful, making him a target for monsters. The son of Hephaestus had to be found as soon as possible.

The centaur sighed and prepared to make the announcement of Leo's disappearance when the Oracle chose that moment to hijack Rachel's body.

The red head stiffened and green smoke poured from her lips as she hissed in the Oracle of Delphi's raspy voice.

 _Fate has intervened in the lives of four_

 _Son of fire, Dreamer, Abused, and Loyal to the Core_

 _The seven, the youngest mechanic, and daughter of creation_

 _Child of Fire, they must find before the moon makes a full rotation_

 _Sacrifice, he must make to save his friends_

 _Only Fate can decide how this quest will end_

Rachel collapsed into the arms of Travis and Connor Stoll, who stood behind her and barely saved her from cracking her skull open on the marble.

"Chiron?" Jason murmured.

The centaur sighed. "I think a quest is in order."

* * *

 _How was the chapter? Also, Dally is loyal to the core in the prophecy. I labeled him as that because of his loyalty to Johnny especially, but also his loyalty to Ponyboy and the gang. After all, he was so loyal to Johnny, he'd rather die than not live without him._

 _I just made that so depressing._

 _I also know that Leo is OOC in this chapter, but this story would be nothing without Pony-Leo-Johnny friendship! We needed some bonding moments._

 _Anyway, review!_


	4. They Get Jumped and They Make Decisions

_Chapter 4. A bit shorter than the last two, but oh, well._

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing_**

 ** _WARNINGS: LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE_**

* * *

"What do you think it means?"

"Well, I don't know! Why are you asking me?"

"I had to ask somebody!"

"Annabeth, what do you think it means?"

"I'm not sure yet. Let me think!"

"Daughter of creation? Well, that can only be you, Nyssa!"

"I'm okay with going on this quest, but I'm worried about the whole youngest inventor thing. I don't want Harley involved in a quest that we know next to nothing about!"

"I know, Nyssa, but it's for Leo and the Oracle said that Harley has to go."

"I hate prophecies."

"Agreed."

"Your dad is the god of prophecies!"

"That doesn't mean I have to like it!"

"Children!" Chiron bellowed and everyone looked up in shock. None of them had ever seen Chiron that angry, but they soon realized that it wasn't anger. It was worry for one of his favorite pupils, one that had run away _willingly_ , which in a way, hurt more than being killed by a monster or something similar.

"All right," Chiron sighed. "To answer all of your questions, I don't know what this prophecy means; no one does, but we know it involves Leo, three others, the seven, and two children of Hephaestus. Nyssa, you are the only daughter of Hephaestus and Harley is the youngest here at camp, therefore you two, along with the seven, will be going on the quest. As for the moon rotation, to be safe, we will go by the night Leo left: three nights ago. So that means you have just under a month to find Leo."

"But how?" Percy demanded. "We don't know where he is."

"Yet," Annabeth added, "but no one's perfect. Leo had to leave a clue of some sort as to where he went. "

Piper shook her head. "I don't think so. Leo ran away so many times that if he did leave a clue, it wouldn't be much."

"Okay, what do we know?" Jason spoke up, taking position as leader. "Why did Leo leave camp?"

"Well, his letter stated that he... he felt like no one cared and that he was a burden and a third wheel," Nyssa answered. "It also said that he didn't know where he was going, so not much to go on there. "

"Okay," Jason continued. "Maybe we could go to that nearby bus station and use the mist to get the person in charge to give us the records and tapes. If we could watch the tape of the night Leo left..."

"Then, we may be able to tell where he went," Annabeth finished. "Brilliant, Jason. Since Leo's your best friend and you know him better than anyone, I think you should be quest leader. All in favor?"

All of the seven, plus Nyssa and the other head councilors, raised their hands.

Jason took a deep breath. "All right, we'll meet in the morning right after breakfast, packed and ready to go. We'll walk to the bus stop and use the mist to get the person in charge to give us the tapes. Okay, everyone get a good night's sleep. We've got a long day ahead of us."

* * *

Meanwhile, Leo's peace hadn't lasted long. All he and Pony had done was go to the movies, considering Leo hadn't been to one in years due to being a runaway, the Wilderness School, and the war.

They'd gone alone because every member of the gang was busy. Johnny had a huge pile of homework to get done; Dally was at a party downtown; Two Bit was out with Kathy; and the others were at work.

"That was awesome!" Leo cheered as they walked down they street. "I haven't been in a movie theater in so long, I forgot how cool seeing a movie on a big screen is."

"I still cannot believe that you haven't been to a movie in years," Pony said in disbelief.

"You should see my friend, Hazel! She's never been to a movie and when I tried to explain a movie theater to her, she looked so confused!" Leo laughed.

Vroom! A red Corvair was tailing them, and through the windshield, Leo spotted a few kids in nice shirts, one of them drinking from a small can labeled Budwieser.

Oh no. Leo knew from previous experience that drunk people could be more dangerous than the Minator, especially those that were naturally violent and the Socs (as the gang called the rich kids) were definitely violent.

Grabbing Pony's arm and subtly quickening their pace, Leo considered making a run for it, but he knew that even he could not outrun a car. He'd tried several times with police cruisers, but he never succeeded. He considered veering into an alley or a nearby store...

Too late. The Socs leapt out of the car, cornering Leo and Pony with their switchblades out and ready to go in for the kill.

"Hello, Greasers," a medium sized blonde said, casually, fiddling with his switchblade. "We're gonna do you two a favor. We're gonna cut all that long greasy hair off."

"No thanks," Leo retorted, snidely. "And you say our hair is greasy? Have you looked in the mirror recently?"

The blonde glared and Pony looked at Leo incredulously.

"You better watch it, smart alec!" A boy in a blue plaid shirt growled.

"Watch what?" Leo replied, innocently. "If you mean watch me kick your butts, than I would gladly oblige."

"Do you have a death wish?" A third teen asked, looking quite suprised at Leo's risky behavior.

"Hmm," Leo thought about it for a moment. "Not exactly, I just don't like people that bully my friends and beat people up for the fun of it." Leo's voice adopted a dangerous tone, showing he meant business.

"Why are we standing around?" The blonde suddenly said after a moment of silence, seeing as the Socs didn't know how to respond to that. "Get 'em!"

Then, the rich kids were rushing towards them and Leo shoved Pony to the ground and out of harm's way. Meanwhile, Leo took on the Socs by himself.

 _He was battling a dozen monsters at once, kicking and shouting for help, but all of the others were either wounded or busy elsewhere._

 _Crunch! His ribs cracked._

 _Bang! The world went blurry._

 _Blood splattering across the ground as claws dug into his skin._

 _His sword was a blur, but the doors of death had yet to be closed and the monsters kept regenerating, leaving him with the same amount of monsters._

 _He was screaming for help, for any of his friends to help him, but no one was coming. He was fighting alone..._

"Leo!"

 _Someone was calling his name. Why were they wasting time calling for him instead of helping to take down these baddies?_

"Leo!" The voice yelled louder.

 _Help! He thought, but his mouth wouldn't open. He cut down another Earthborn but it regenerated just as fast as it was killed._

"LEO!"

His surroundings were fading. The monsters were gone and his sword had vanished. The battlefield was disappearing, replaced by the concerned face of a boy with greasy hair. Ponyboy.

"Leo, are you okay? You did it; they're gone!" Ponyboy said, his voice concerned. "And then, you got all sweaty and you looked so scared and your eyes were glassy; what's wrong?"

"N-Nothing," Leo stuttered.

Pony stared at him in disbelief. "That was not nothing, Leo."

Leo hesitated. He'd never told anyone how the war truly affected him, but he trusted Ponyboy. "I-I have PTSD... since after the turf war."

"Oh, Leo." And then, Ponyboy was hugging him, tightly.

"What happened?" A voice demanded. Leo turned to see Dally and Johnny standing near them.

"Leo, you look like shit, man!" Dally cursed. "What the hell happened?"

"We got jumped by some Socs, Dal," Leo said. "They're gone."

"The Socs aren't ones to run away," Johnny pointed out as he absent mindedly rubbed the scar on his cheek.

"Leo," Pony responded. "He punched a few of them and they ran off."

Dally stared at Leo with what might've been recognized as admiration, but it was hard to tell with Dally. "I don't know you well, kid, but you have my respect. "

"Thanks," Leo said and they began walking towards the Curtis house.

"So," Dally finally said, "I'm going to the Nightly Double tonight. Anyone want to come?"

"Johnny and I'll come. Leo?" Pony agreed.

"Sure," Leo shrugged. What could happen?

Little did he know...

* * *

 _Did I portray PTSD well? I did some research, but I've never had PTSD personally, so I wouldn't know how to portray it completely accurately. How do you think I did?_


	5. They Go To The Nightly Double

_Chapter 5._

 _If you have not already, please check out the poll on my profile_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing_**

 ** _WARNINGS:_**

* * *

Leo Valdez should've known things would not stay quiet and calm for long. For Hephaestus's sake, he was Leo freaking Valdez, first fire user in centuries and defeater of Gaea! His life was as far as you could get from normal... well, maybe Percy's was weirder, but it all depended on the angle you looked at it from.

Anyway, it had been an innocent night at the Nightly Double, watching a movie about some chicks partying at the beach and all sixties junk, but Leo didn't care. It was the most fun he'd had in a long time... until Dally opened his mouth.

They all seated themselves in the second row from the big screen at the drive in theater, Dally in the aisle; Johnny beside him with Ponyboy right next to him; and Leo taking up the rear.

Two pretty girls- a redhead and a dark haired girl- both wearing nice clothes sat in front of them and that's when Dally opened his mouth.

He leaned over the red haired girl and whispered with a smirk, "Hello, pretty. Is this your real hair?"

At first, Leo could see the girl giggle, but when Dally said the next thing, her mouth curved into an irritated snarl.

"Is this the same hair that you have on your..." Dally trailed, knowing that the girl knew what he was talking about and he didn't like it.

Johnny, sensing a fight, got up to get a coke while the girl finally snapped.

"Why won't you be nice and leave us alone? " She said through gritted teeth, her voice tight as she fought to remain calm.

Dally sneered, reminding Leo too much of Octavian. "Oh, honey, I'm never nice."

Johnny returned, sipping his coke nervously while he watched the fight unfold right before his black eyes.

"I said," the girl ground out, "could you be nice and leave us alone?"

"Sweetie, like I said, I'm never ni-"

"Leave her alone, Dally," Leo said, standing up. "She didn't do nothing to you; she's just trying to watch a movie. We all are. So either sit down and leave her alone or leave."

Dally turned to face them, ready to retort angrily, but then he met Leo's eyes.

Leo's eyes seemed to be made of fire. The light from the movie screen caught his brown orbs just right and made them appear tinged orange and red. He meant business.

Dally said nothing. Pissed at Leo, he got to his feet and stormed away, fuming. How dare that little brat say that to him? How dare he- and so on.

"Thanks," the redhead stated. "Why don't you come sit with us?"

The remaining trio exchanged glances and shrugged like 'Why not?' Then, they got up and sat beside them: Leo in the aisle, Pony between the girls, and Johnny on the other side of the dark haired girl.

"Thanks for that," the redhead stated, sticking out her hand. "I'm Sherri Valance, but my friends call me Cherry 'cause my hair. What are your names?"

"Leo Valdez, at your service, my lady. Don't worry, Dally can be a jerk sometimes, but he's a really cool dude if you get to know him," Leo explained, but he didn't further defend Dally. He had to apologize before all could even start to be forgiven.

Cherry didn't say anything; she just turned to Ponyboy.

"I'm Ponyboy Curtis."

Cherry laughed. "That's an interesting name."

"You think my name's interesting?" Ponyboy said. "I have a brother named Sodapop; even says so on his birth certificate."

"And I have a half brother named Harley," Leo laughed. "Yes, like the motorcycle."

Cherry laughed. "What about you?" She asked, turning to the quiet boy.

"I'm Johnny," he mumbled.

"Well, I'm Marcia," the dark haired girl said, her voice high like a bell. "Pleasure to meet ya'll."

"You as well," Ponyboy stated.

They sat and watched the movie for a bit, saying nothing at all, until suddenly hands appeared on Johnny and Leo's shoulders.

"You're done, Greasers!" A deep voice growled.

Leo didn't think. He spun around and grabbed the person's wrist, judo flipping them over a seat and putting his foot of their chest as they hit the ground.

For a moment, he thought he was back on the battlefield, raising his sword with shaking arms, not wanting to kill the traitorous demigod beneath him but seeing no choice. He started to bring the sword down.

"Leo, don't!" Johnny's voice brought him back to reality and he saw his foot was on the chest of a very shocked and maybe even fearful Two Bit. His fist was a few inches above the joker's nose.

"Two Bit!" Leo gasped in horror, taking his foot off of Two Bit's chest and reaching out to help the older boy stand. "I am so sorry! You scared me and I panicked and I'm so-"

"Leo, it's okay, man. No blood, no foul," Two Bit laughed, but his eyes displayed fear and little else.

Great, another person afraid of you, a voice sneered in Leo's mind.

I'm not running away this time, Leo told it defiantly.

Suit yourself. Don't come crying to me when they stab you in the back.

Leo willed the voice to the back of his mind and prayed that it stayed there for a while.

"Ponyboy, could you come with me to get some popcorn?" Cherry asked, standing up and Pony nodded, getting on his feet, ready to follow her.

"Hey, get Johnny some too. I'm buying," Two Bit added when he saw Johnny reach for his jeans pocket. "Leo, want any?"

"No thanks," Leo said, still horrified at what he'd just done.

What was that anyway? He'd freaked out like that before, thinking he was back in the war, but never that intensely. It usually occured when he was in a dangerous situation, like with the Socs, not because of some trick his friend pulled. What was happening to him?

The group left shortly after, choosing to walk back to Two Bit's and get his car to drive the girls home.

That's when things really went down hill.

A blue Mustang was tailing them, driving slowly until it came to a stop a few feet away from the three Greasers and the two Socs.

Two kids got out of the car, but Leo had a feeling there were more in the backseat. When he caught sight of the kids, he went rigid.

These were the kids that had jumped him on his first night in Tulsa.

"Cherry, Marcia," one of the kids- the tall one with rings- groaned, stumbling forward. "Just because we got a little drunk doesn't mean you should go hanging around with these bums!"

"Hey, who you calling bums?" Two Bit snapped as he took a threatening step forward.

"Two Bit, don't," Marcia whispered.

"Bob, I told you I'm never going out with you when you're drinking and I mean it!" Cherry yelled.

"But Cherry, that doesn't mean you should go hanging around with some no good Greasers- a thief, a know it all, and a runaway," the kid with the rings, Bob, sneered.

Leo was shocked. How did he know Leo was a runaway?

The other teen noticed Leo's look of astonishment. "News flies fast in Tulsa. When the news spread that a newbie moved in, some listened in on conversations and now, everyone knows that you're a freakshow. A runaway with a dark past and PTSD. They all know you're crazy and weak, running away from your problems."

Leo froze. He wanted nothing more than to punch the jerk, but he knew that wouldn't help and that these kids would cream him.

"Hey, back off, bub!" Two Bit snarled, flicking out his black switchblade and handing a broken bottle to Ponyboy, who they all knew wouldn't use it.

"Wait!" Cherry cried. "We'll go with you."

She turned and talked quietly with Pony for a moment before turning and following her boyfriend into the Mustang.

"Come on," Two Bit muttered.

They started walking and for a while, no one said a word. Two Bit broke off from their group with a short goodbye.

Johnny, Ponyboy, and Leo were on their own, walking home as a trio, until they came to the vacant lot.

They just sat there, talking about wanting to escape their problems and smoking cigarettes.

Somewhere along the way, they drifted off.

Of course, Leo had to dream.

* * *

 _That's that. It was hard to write the part with Leo's PTSD because Leo isn't a violent person, but I thought... after what Leo's been through, he wouldn't be **all** jokes and humor._

 _REVIEW!_


	6. Running Away Again

_Hello, everyone. If you have not already, check out the poll on my profile (and yes, I will write this in every chapter until the poll is closed)._

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing_**

 ** _WARNINGS: BLOOD, LANGUAGE, MURDER_**

* * *

He was standing in front of the Doors of Death, battling Clyptius, fire shooting from his hands in a wave of heat. Struggling against his mounting exhaustion from using his powers and the battle itself, he staggered, shooting another fire ball at the giant of darkness.

He didn't know where Hazel was, and he wanted to find her more than anything, but he had to focus on the battle or he'd probably get smashed.

Just beyond the giant, he spotted Percy and Annabeth, lying motionless on the floor, bloody and bruised to the point of looking like pale corpses.

Bad thought, Leo, bad thought!

Tendrils of pure darkness were reaching for him, and he tried to dive out of the way, but one tendrils grabbed his arm and yanked him back. His fire extinguished and when he opened his mouth, he couldn't speak or scream or yell for help. All that came out was silence.

'Help!' He mouthed, but no sound came out.

'Ha, ha, Leo Valdez.' The voice came out of Percy's unwilling mouth. 'You think you can defeat me? Yeah, right! A pathetic, puny demigod like you? No way in all the time of Greece!'

He shivered at the cold, disembodied voice, and opened his mouth to throw a joke out there, but once again, nothing came out.

'Oh, stop that, demigod. You will be nothing more than the seventh wheel.' The voice morphed into that of Nemesis, taunting him with that insult, that one kink in his armor she had gotten to.

"Seventh wheel," the voices hissed.

"Seventh wheel."

"Seventh wheel!"

"NO!"

* * *

He awoke with a gasp and nearly caused himself quite the concussion when he banged his skull against Johnny's.

"Ow," Johnny mumbled. "Sorry to wake you, Leo, but it's late. You guys gotta get home."

Leo sat up and saw that Ponyboy, looking rather anxious, was standing up and kept glancing over his shoulder as if he expected something to pop out of the shadows... probably shouldn't have thought that. Murphey's law always had a way of finding and punishing Leo for having bad thoughts like that.

"What about you?" Leo asked, standing up.

"I'm gonna stay out here all night," Johnny responded.

"Okay, but if you get cold, I'm sure Darry would love to have you," Leo offered, and he and Pony took off running for the Curtis home.

The lights were on inside and Leo could see Darry sitting in the armchair reading the newspaper while Sodapop stretched out across the sofa, asleep.

Ponyboy looked so anxious, Leo knew a hell of a lecture was coming and he actually pitied Ponyboy, even though he and Pony had been the ones to break curfew.

Seeing the hesitation in Pony's eyes, Leo opened the door and he and Ponyboy stepped into the room.

The result was instantaneous. Darry was leaping out of the armchair, newspaper forgotten, and Soda stirred at the sudden rustle of movement and the sound of the door creaking open.

"Where the hell have you been?" Darry roared. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Pony and Leo mutely shook their heads.

"Well, it's two in the morning, kiddo," Darry said with a mighty glare. "Where the heck have you been?"

"We, um, went to sleep in the lot, " Leo replied, glancing at Pony, who looked both scared and he could see the increasing rage growing in the almost redhead.

Darry looked at Leo in suprise before turning his fiery glare back on Ponyboy. "What? Ponyboy, I want to hear it from you. Where were you?"

"We was talking to Johnny, and we went to sleep in the lot," Ponyboy said, a little louder than normal voice level.

"You went to sleep in the lot?! Do you have any idea how worried we were? You haven't even got a coat on!"

Leo knew that this argument was between Darry and Ponyboy, an argument that Soda and Leo were not included in, so he settled for hanging in the back with the blonde and watching the inevitable play out.

"I didn't mean too!" Pony snapped, going to the bathroom to get a towel and dry his hair, which was wet with dew.

"Did it ever occur to you that your big brothers were worried sick about you? And we can't even call the cops because you would be thrown in a boys home so fast it would make your head spin!"

Ponyboy stormed out of the bathroom. "I said I didn't mean too!"

"I didn't mean too! I forgot! That's all I ever hear from you!" Darry jabbed Pony's chest with his finger.

As if thinking with one mind, Leo and Soda said in tandem, "Darry-"

"You two, shut up!" Darry shouted, whirling on them. "I'm tired of hearing you stick up for him, Soda, and you are just a kid that runs away from your problems instead of facing them head on! You aren't apart of this family, so stay out of it!"

That was out of line and they all knew it.

"Dont yell at them!" Ponyboy shouted.

It happened so fast, Leo almost couldn't process it. Darry raised his hand and he knew that any second, that hand would be colliding with Pony's face.

The Latino dove forward and gripped Darry's wrist, catching it inches away from Pony's cheek.

For a moment, everyone was in shock, and then, Ponyboy, in his shock and need to get away, sprinted out of the house, the door clattering closed behind him.

"What the Hades, Darry?" Leo screamed.

"I-I didn't mean- I'll go after him," Darry moved towards the door.

"No," Leo growled. "You've done enough."

He turned on his heel and bolted out the door after his friend.

Leo had been running practically his whole life- from foster homes, social services, monsters, gangs- and he caught up with Ponyboy quickly just outside the vacant lot.

They didn't stop running there, though. The pair raced through the vacant lot, and somewhere along the way, Ponyboy literally tripping over Johnny.

When Pony yanked Johnny to his feet, the older boy didn't ask questions- just joined them in their race away from the Curtis residence and their problems. Little did they know, they were only running towards more.

The trio halted outside an old park littered with dry leaves and with a fountain in the center.

"Pony, what happened?" Johnny asked the nearly hysterical teen.

"Darry tried to hit me! We used to get along great until mom and dad died and now, he just hates me. He would've slapped me if Leo hadn't stepped in. T-Thanks for that, by the way," he explained, turning to Leo on the last part, who winced at the betrayed look in Pony's eyes.

"No need to thank me, but Pony, I don't think Darry meant it. Trust me, I know when someone means to hit you and when they just lose their temper," Leo said.

Pony nodded. "I-I know. Let's just walk through the park, then maybe I'll have calmed down enough to go home."

The other two nodded and they started to walk across the park, lighting cigarettes as they went.

The peace didn't last long because soon enough, a blue Mustang vroomed into the park.

"I bet they're looking for us," Johnny stated. "We picked up their girls."

Pony and Leo nodded and stood up from the curb as four Socs hopped out of the vehicle and stumbled toward them, utterly intoxicated.

"Hey, Greasers!" Bob sneered. "Y-You picked up our girls."

"No duh," Leo deadpanned. "How'd you find that out?"

Bob looked so confused, Leo would've started laughing, but even he knew that laughing would probably lead to trouble.

"Shut up," Bob muttered. "Know what a Greaser is? White trash with long, greasy hair."

When Johnny and Pony gasped, Leo knew this was a very bad insult in Tulsa. All he was thinking was 'I've been called worse.'

But apparently, Ponyboy hadn't because that pissed him off. "Know what a Soc is? White trash with Mustangs and Madras!"

"Get 'em!"

The Socs started chasing them and Leo did something that was either very brave or very stupid. He stopped and turned to face the rich kids, telling his friends to keep running with his eyes when they looked at him in astonishment.

"Hey!" He yelled, stepping up to glare right into Bob's eyes. "Leave my friends alone."

"Why should I?" Bob snarled.

"Because if you don't, I'll make you look like a plaid pancake," Leo said, simply.

"What?" Bob muttered, perplexed.

Step one: confuse them.

"What are we standing around for? This is the kid that has been messing with us since he came to Tulsa!" Another kid in green madris said.

"David's right!" Bob shouted. "Get him!"

Plan failed.

Leo sprinted after his friends, who were almost to the edge of the park, but he was too slow.

Bob grabbed him by the waist and the Socs dragged him kicking and screaming over to the fountain.

Water was going into his mouth and soaking his clothes and he was so cold, shivering and teeth chattering frigid. Hands were bruising his skin as they held him down, drowning him.

His last thought was a prayer that Percy, the son of the sea, would save him from the water flowing into his lungs.

Then, red dripped across his vision and everything went black.

* * *

When he came too, he was lying on his back, staring at the darkened sky and he could hear quiet talking near him.

Leo struggled to sit up and when he did, he almost screamed at the sight before him.

Bob Shelton was sprawled on the concrete in a pool of scarlet blood. Ponyboy was vomiting over by the play equipment and Johnny was trembling beside the fountain, holding his switchblade, which was dark to the hilt.

"I killed him," he whispered, shuddering with horror.

"It-It okay, Johnny. It-It was self defense, " Leo stammered, even though that first part was a total lie.

"What are we gonna do?" Pony mumbled.

Johnny looked up. "We need money, a gun, and a plan."

"A gun?" Pony squeaked.

"Yeah, we need to go see Dally," Johnny stated.

* * *

 _Uh, oh. Run from problems and run into more. Of course._


	7. Dally's Plan and Jason's Discovery

_I'm back. Check out the poll on my profile._

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing_**

 ** _WARNINGS: LANGUAGE_**

* * *

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Leo was pounding on the door so loudly that it was a wonder his hand didn't bleed.

A big guy wearing a white button up shirt with all the buttons undone and beer spilled across it answered the door. He scowled at them. "What'd you want?"

"We have to see Dally," Ponyboy said, his eyes still wide and blown from the scene he had just witnessed.

"Dally's busy. Come back later," the guy ordered, trying to shut the door, but Leo caught it.

"Look, man, just go get Dally, okay?" Johnny demanded in a surprisingly harsh voice.

The guy sighed like getting Dallas Winston was such a huge chore. "Fine, wait here."

He shut the door and the trio hurried over to the window, watching with relief as the guy that had answered the door led a shirtless, tired looking Dally through the ongoing party.

Dally swung open the door, and the three of them stared up at him as Dally's face twisted in confusion, slight panic, and... was that concern?

"What do you three want?" He asked, trying to act like he wasn't worried over the three boys, all looking traumatized and Leo being drenched and shivering (he was a fire user, but water tended to weaken his ability to keep himself warm).

"Johnny killed a Soc," Pony choked rather bluntly.

Dally's eyes could not have been wider. He looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening before he grabbed Johnny's arm and starting forcing them into the house.

"Get in," was all he said, leading them through the party and up a back staircase. "Leo, why are you all wet? You'll die of pneumonia before the cops ever get to ya!"

The trio stepped into one of the bedrooms, and Dally tossed Leo an XXXL T-shirt.

"It'll be a little big on you, but it's dry."

Leo nodded in a bit of a daze, and quickly changed shirts, trying not to notice that the others all stared at him with pity when they saw his scars.

"Tell me exactly what happened," Dally commanded. "Don't leave anything out."

Johnny quickly rattled off the story of the girls at the Nightly Double, their boyfriends, Darry hitting Pony, and the Socs trying to drown Leo in a fountain.

Dally shook his head, smoking a cigarette, nervously. "I thought I left all this murder shit behind in New York."

Leo nodded. "Yeah, me, too," he stated in a voice slightly above a whisper. The trio turned to look at him in confusion and he remembered that he'd never told them where he'd lived before Tulsa; luckily, they didn't ask.

"All right," Dally spoke up, forcing two things into Johnny's hand: a gun and a wad of cash. "You guys gotta get out of Tulsa. I know a guy that can offer you guys a hideout in an old church on Jay Mountain in Windrixville. Catch the three o'clock train today and buy a week's supply of food as soon as you get there. Then, don't so much as stick your noses out the door. Got it?"

"Got it, Dally," Johnny replied, still staring at the gun in his hand.

The trio left, quickly, and hopped the train, but it all seemed to go by in a blur for Leo.

"Get some sleep," Johnny advised, Pony aready asleep on his shoulder. "You look like you need it."

Leo didn't think he'd be able to sleep after what just happened, but he leaned against the wall and was out like a light.

* * *

Blood. So much blood. Dripping down his hands, running into his eyes, soaking his clothes, and staining the knife in his hand.

On the ground before him was Bob, his eyes wide and empty.

Then, Bob became a blonde girl he'd killed during the war. Her earth pendant recognizing her as a part of Gaea's army glinted in the sunlight.

Next was Jason, not dead, but thrashing around on the ground, clutching his bleeding leg in absolute pain.

Leo dropped the knife and screamed.

* * *

"Leo, wake up!" Johnny's voice interrupted his dream. "We have to jump!"

Leo didn't ask questions; he simply leapt off of the train after Johnny and a sleepy Ponyboy.

It was dawn, the sun barely above the horizon, and the mist glinted silver, reminding Leo of the Hunters of Artemis and their silvery clothes. The grass was wet with dew and it tickled Leo's legs.

"We better start looking for Jay Mountain," Johnny spoke up and the trio set off.

* * *

"Last night, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, eighteen year old Robert Shelton was murdered, stabbed to death in a park and found by a woman walking her dog the following morning. There are three suspects in his murder: fourteen year old Ponyboy Curtis, sixteen year old Johnny Cade, and sixteen year old Leo Valdez.

"Ponyboy's parents were killed in an auto wreck last month and he has been raised by his older brother, Darryl, since. Darryl refuses to give any comment on the disappearance and suspicions of his brother. We fear grief has driven young Ponyboy over the edge, causing to him to act out violently.

"Johnny Cade lives with his mother and father, and there have been several reports of abuse in the household, none of which have been proven. He was physically assaulted last month by an unknown group of people. It seems that all the abuse in his life pushed him too far and Johnny finally snapped.

"I'm sure you've all heard of Leo Valdez, the child that lost his mother in a workshop fire at age eight and ran away from six foster homes. He went missing winter of last year from the Wilderness School, along with coach and gym teacher Gleeson Hedge and student, Piper McLean, who later returned home to her father. We are not sure what Leo Valdez has been doing these past months, but obviously, it left him more troubled than he already was.

"If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of any of these three children, please call 999-134-3569. Again, please cal-"

Jason hit the button on the remote, powering off the television.

"What the hell just happened?" Percy asked, his eyes glued to the black screen.

"Tulsa, Oklahoma," Annabeth whispered. "I think we just found Leo."

They all looked up as the screen door slammed behind Jason and watched him walk to the Big House across the green.

* * *

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Chiron, it's him. I know it!"

"How did he get to Oklahoma from New York and then get mixed up with two juvenile delinquents in a matter of weeks?"

"I don't know, Chiron, but it's him and we need to find him quickly."

"All right. Normally, I don't do this to find a runaway demigod, but since you are searching for a hero of Olympus, I find it necessary. Come back to me with your companions. Go."

The blonde walked out, a slight bounce in his step, of the Big House to where his friends were standing.

"What is it?" A tom boy with oil covered clothes demanded.

Jason grinned, much to the surprise of Nyssa, Jake, and the seven. "I think we just found the key to finding Leo."

* * *

 _Well, that's chapter 7. REVIEW, or I will stop updating._

 _...I'm just kidding, but I scared you, didn't I? Seriously, though, your reviews make my day._


	8. The Church and Setting Off

_Chapter 8. Check out my Halloween stories Poll!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing_**

 ** _WARNINGS: LANGUAGE AND A REALLY BAD NIGHTMARE (IS ITALICIZED. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!)_**

* * *

Leo, Ponyboy, and Johnny arrived at the church just after dawn, exhausted and still in shock after what had occurred the night before.

The trio climbed the hill and Leo and Johnny set to work in yanking some boards off of the decaying doorway. They finally busted through the door of wooden boards, all rotten with age, and climbed inside, immediately collapsing onto the steps.

"We should... probably get some... sleep," Johnny mumbled before slumping over and promptly beginning to snore.

But Leo found it impossible to sleep. He tossed and turned, feeling so very exhausted but his eyes refused to remain closed. Sleep had never come easy to him, considering he had insomnia, but this was different... like his body refused to let him sleep rather than his mind keeping him awake.

And when he finally fell asleep, he wished he'd stayed awake.

* * *

 _He was standing on the battlefield, wielding a bloodstained dagger high and watching as blood ran down his hands and fingers, dripping from the blade and onto the grass._

 _"Leo..." he spun around and saw his mother._

 _Not that she looked like his mother with her charred skin and burnt hair. Her eyes were bleary and her face was blistered from heat and stained with soot. The clothes she wore- overalls and a brown long sleeved shirt- were nothing more than smoking strips of cloth._

 _"Mama?" He whispered. "No..."_

 _"Diablo," she spat. "Killer. Monster!"_

 _"N-No, Mama. Te amo, Mama! Lo siento!" (I love you. I'm sorry)_

 _Her eyes blazed, almost madly. "I hate you, you little, worthless bastard child."_

 _"Mama, por favor!" Leo cried. "I'm sorry! Lo siento, Mama!" (Por favor=please)_

 _She glared and looked over his shoulder._

 _Leo spun around and guess who he saw standing there?_

 _Jason, his hair stained crimson and his pant leg shimmering scarlet. Bruises blossomed across his deathly pale skin and his glasses were shattered, barley staying on his broken nose._

 _"All your fault..."_

 _"No, Jason, I-I saved you! You've gotta believe me!" Leo sobbed._

 _"All your fault..."_

 _He turned once more and came face to face with Bob, whose leg bled heavily onto the quaking earth, his eyes glinting with madness and hatred._

 _"All your fault... all your fault..."_

 _More people- ghosts from Leo's past- stepped out of the shadows or appeared from thin air. He saw Julia, his best friend that got shot by a gang leader when he was twelve. There was Alexis and Brandon, two kids that were killed by his foster dad when he was ten. He noticed Holly with her neck broken; she'd killed herself when he was thirteen. They just kept coming, approaching, whispering the same words over and over again._

 _"All your fault... all your fault..."_

 _Pain flared in his arm and he looked down to see he'd unconsciously dragged the dagger in a vertical line down his forearm, causing blood to gush from the wound at an alarming pace._

 _"I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I'm sorry."_

* * *

He woke with a start.

The sun had just begun to rise above the hills, casting slim slants of sunlight onto the dusty floor of the church and allowing Leo to see Ponyboy clearly.

He didn't look too good with pale, pasty skin and the way his body trembled under Johnny's jacket, like he was freezing in the snow instead of chilly on a breezy autumn morning.

Leo looked around and noticed that Johnny was missing, but the boy had written the words, 'Went to get supplies. Be back soon,' in the dust.

He let out a sigh of relief and laid back down, not wanting sleep but wanting to be awake and alone with his thoughts.

His memories were creeping up on him once more and he tried to focus on the good times, but usually those good times led into bad times and then, the bad memories popped up again. It was a never ending cycle.

"You awake?" Pony mumbled, sitting up a bit.

"Yeah. You okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You look sick."

Ponyboy frowned. "I look better than you do."

"Really?"

"Yeah, why don't you take a look?"

Leo turned and looked into a dusty mirror nearby.

Ponyboy was right. Leo's skin had lost every bit of color to the point where he was paler than Nico. His lips were tinted blue and his eyes were rimmed red; he must've been crying in his sleep. His clothes were rumpled and his fingertips were stained blue. He looked like a skeleton, maybe a zombie at best.

"Leo?" Ponyboy said, suddenly.

"Yeah, Pony?"

"Do you miss home? Your camp, I mean, even though they hurt you?"

"... Yeah, Pony, I do. I really do."

* * *

"So how long is the bus ride? " Percy asked, staring at his ticket and trying to decipher the put of order letters.

"It says it's... about a day," Annabeth replied.

"That's so long!" Percy groaned.

"Don't be a baby," Annabeth teased.

"Don't worry, Perce," Harley said. "I gotcha. It's so long!"

"Harley!"

"Sorry, Nyssa, but someone had to say it and since I'm the only guy without a girlfriend or boyfriend, it had to be me."

"Yeah, but you also have an older sister."

"Good point."

"You guys ready? The bus is pulling up," Jason said, slinging a bag over his shoulder and pointing at the vehicle coming closer to the bus stop.

The group jumped. He'd been so quiet they'd forgotten he was there, which wasn't like Jason Grace at all.

The group loaded onto the bus, sitting beside their girlfriend or boyfriend (Harley sat with Nyssa).

"You okay, Sparky?" Piper whispered, taking his hand.

"Yeah, but... I miss him," he muttered.

"We all do, Jace."

"Is it our fault?"

"What? Of course not, Jason. It's no one's fault," she told him, gripping his hand tighter.

"Is it a coincidence that he ran away the same day I told you we were his only friends?" Jason's eyes filled up with tears.

"You think he heard us?"

"Without a doubt."

"It's gonna be okay, Jason. We'll find him and being him home and apologize to him until he's annoyed by it," she giggled slightly, but it sounded choked.

He smiled, slightly, before it dropped. "Who do you think those kids are?"

"Who?"

"Ponyboy and Johnny. Do you think Leo made some new friends?"

"Maybe, but so what? We'll always be his superman and his beauty queen, no matter what."

"I hope he's okay. Leaves for a few weeks, and he's a fugitive."

"That's our repair boy," Piper laughed.

"Got that right."

"We're gonna find him, Jace, and bring him home."

"I know because I'm not gonna stop until Leo Valdez is back at camp."

"That's my Jason."

* * *

 _Was it good? Okay? I don't care if you liked it or not (you're allowed to have an opinion), but I won't know unless you review._


	9. Arrival for the Demigods and Dally

_Hello. Check out the poll on my profile. That's all I have to say. ON WITH THE CHAPTER!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing_**

 ** _WARNINGS: LANGUAGE_**

* * *

The demigods arrived in town in precisely twenty three hours, but there was a problem. None of them knew what to do now.

"How about we split up?" Percy asked. "One goes to the police station, and the others just go door to door asking if anyone's seen him."

"What about the Curtis'?" Harley piped up. "Leo's with their brother. Maybe they know where he is."

"Harley's gotta point," Piper said, "but how do we find out where they live?"

"I've got you covered," Annabeth told her, whipping out her phone (with the celestial bronze chip that Leo made). "What were their names again?"

"Darryl and Ponyboy Curtis," Jason responded.

Percy chuckled. "What kind of name is Ponyboy?"

Nyssa turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Dude, your name is Perseus, and my little brother is named after a motor cycle. Can you really make fun of this guy's name?"

Percy promptly shut up.

"They live right down the street," Annabeth informed them. "There's a picture of their house."

She showed them a photo of a run down house, but that didn't necessarily mean that it did not look cozy and well lived in.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Jason said. "Let's go."

The nine of them headed down the road, examining houses as they went until they came to the right one.

Annabeth knocked on the door.

No answer.

She rang the doorbell.

No answer.

"They're not home," she said. "They're either working or down at the police station. They may be searching for them."

"Well, what do we do now?" Hazel asked.

"I say we get a hotel room, and go down to the police station tomorrow," Annabeth answered.

"Besides, if the Curtis' don't know where their brother is, they can't help us find Leo," Frank pointed out.

Annabeth nodded. "Let's try to IM him."

"Will it work if we don't have his exact location?" Nyssa questioned.

"Only one way to find out."

She took a drachma from her pocket and headed in the direction of a nearby park and a fountain (it's not where Bob was killed, by the way).

After making sure the coast was clear, she tossed the gold coin into the fountain.

"Oh, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, except my offering. Show me Leo Valdez, wherever he is."

There was a brief flash of an abandoned church before the image frizzled out like static on a TV before shutting down completely.

"Di Immortals!" Percy muttered. "At least it gave us something."

"Let's go get a hotel room, and we'll continue our search tomorrow," Frank said, pointing to the setting sun.

* * *

Five days later, their search was getting nowhere.

"This is stupid! Let's just try the Curtis' again," Jason said, cranky from many sleepless nights.

"All right," Nyssa said. "Let's try IMing him one more time, and then, we'll go see the Curtis'."

She stood and while Annabeth held a spray gun and Hazel adjusted a flashlight, she threw the drachma into the rainbow.

"Oh, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Leo Valdez, wherever he is."

The image was blank for a moment before a fuzzy scene popped up: the image of a hospital.

"The kid gonna be alright?"

"Yeah, but I don't understand how he wasn't burned. I mean, a burning roof caves in on him. You think he'd have a few burns, but no. Nothing except the broken wrist and the concussion."

"Family?"

"As far as I know, he doesn't have one. As soon as he wakes up, we can release him, but I don't know where he's gonna go."

"The Curtis' seem pretty concerned about him. He'll probably stay with them; at least until the trial."

"You think he killed that kid? You think any of them did?"

"I think it was self defense. I knew Bob, and he could get violent, but that Johnny Cade kid? He didn't seem capable of hurting a fly, much less killing someone in cold blood."

"Agreed."

Nyssa swept her hand across the image, and she turned to her friends.

"Hospital," they all said in tandem.

* * *

Five days of doing nothing but thinking, playing cards, reading Gone with the Wind, and eating baloney. Leo had never been more bored.

Finally on the fifth day, he woke up from a nightmare, only to butt heads with Dallas Winston.

"Ow!" Dally muttered. "Geesh, kid, you gotta hard nogon."

"Dally! What's going on back home?" Leo said in one big rush.

"Geesh, you three need to slow it down, but just so you know, the cops aren't looking for you so much. Even the chief, who hates Greasers, is 99% sure that it was self defense."

"Well, that's good," Johnny said.

"Now, who wants to go get some food? I'm starved," Dally told them.

"You're starved?" Johnny said, dryly.

If Leo didn't know any better, he would've thought Dally blushed.

"Well, if not for me, you three need to eat. Ya'll look like a bunch of skeletons."

* * *

After they visited Dairy Queen, Johnny started to tell Dally about what the three fugitives had been considering for the past two days.

"Dally, we're gonna turn ourselves in," Johnny said, bluntly.

Dally slammed on the brakes so hard, Leo and Ponyboy were thrown into the seats in front of them.

"What?" He demanded. "I give you money, a weapon, and a nice hideout, and you want to turn yourselves in."

"Dally," Leo said. "This is all real nice of you, but face it. This is no way to live."

"Leo's right," Ponyboy agreed. "We should just go back and face the music, and hope for the best."

"And if the best doesn't happen?" Dally growled and he continued driving. "What if you get sent to jail?"

"Dally, trust me," Leo said. "If it comes to the worst, I have friends that can get us out of any situation. Literally. They stopped a turf war; I'm sure they can get us out of jail."

"But what if-"

"Dally," Johnny said, "we're gonna do it anyway. You can't stop us."

"Some of the kids are in there!" Somebody screamed.

The four of them looked up to see the church up in flames.

"Fuck," Dally muttered.

Leo didn't think. Maybe it was some heroism left over from the war, or maybe it was because he didn't want anyone else to die in a fire like his mom did, but nonetheless, he jumped out of the car. Then, he sprinted towards the burning church, Ponyboy and Johnny at his heels.

"You three get back here, you idiots! You're gonna get yourselves killed!" Dally yelled, sounding more distressed than Leo had ever heard him.

Johnny tossed a rock through the window, watching as the wood splintered, before the three of them dove through the opening.

And the world became a fiery ball of orange and red and horror.

* * *

 _Not a bad chapter. It was a bit all over the place, but *shrugs*_


	10. Heroes At Heart

_Hello. Check out the poll on my profile if you want me to take your opinion into account when I post my Halloween stories!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing_**

 ** _WARNINGS: LANGUAGE_**

* * *

Flames soared high, smoke assaulting his senses. Yet, he forged on towards the screaming that originated near the back of the church, the sobbing of children.

"Pony, Leo, they're in here!" Johnny, covered in soot with his black eyes wide in fear, shouted as he kicked down a door. The screeches grew louder but the sizzling and crackling of the fire almost drowned them out. "Calm down, we're going to get you out."

They raced in, dodging falling debris, and Leo saw a group of seven or eight kids, all under seven years old, standing against the back wall. The Latino punched a boarded up window, ignoring the pain that sparked in his fist.

Dally's voice yelled, "Get out of there! Forget those god damn kids!"

The trio didn't pay any attention to the command. They lifted the small children and dropped them out of the window. Leo heard a yelp and assumed that one of the kids had bit Ponyboy.

The last kid was out and Leo grabbed his friends by the collars and tossed them out of the burning building. He vaguely saw Dally slap the Pony's back, which had combust into orange hot flames, and the younger collapsed. A thump sounded as the boy hit the ground, unconscious. Johnny stumbled and fell, coughing on the ground. The teenager knelt beside the African American child and began to shake him, pounding him on the back while casting brief glances to the blonde on the ground.

"AHHH!" A falling piece of timer hit his back and luckily, Leo didn't think that his back broke but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt like Hades. A snap scared him as pain rushed through his wrist like acid.

"Leo!" Dally called and then hands were grabbing his shoulders and hauling the demigod through the window. "Damn it!" Then, the roof fell and everything faded to black.

* * *

When Pony came to, his lungs hurt and his back stung slightly while sirens penetrated his ears. Despite all this, he had bigger problems.

"Where are the others?" He muttered, coughing slightly.

"Oh, good, you're awake," the guy he'd seen at the church- Jerry?- said, sounding relieved.

"Where are the others?" Pony repeated. "My friends- Johnny, Leo, and Dally?"

"Well, the dark skinned boy should be fine. Maybe a few minor burns, but mainly, he was just coughing when they put him in the ambulance. The toe headed kid burned his arm a little bit, but it's nothing a few days in the hospital can't fix. That Latino kid, though... I have no idea."

"What do you mean?" Pony asked him.

"Well, a burning beam fell on him. I don't think his back's broken, but he's bound to be burned real bad. I think he broke his wrist, too; maybe a concussion. Honestly, kid, I'm not really sure if he'll be all right."

Pony wanted to cry right then. Leo... He'd only met him a few days ago, but the two had become fast friends. They'd been through so much together. Pony didn't know what he'd do if Leo died, or Johnny or Dally for that matter.

He choked back his tears and asked, "The kids all right?"

"Thanks to you three. I swear, you are the bravest kids I've ever met. You and those two boys rushing in to save them, and that toe headed kid going in to save that Latino boy. It was impressive."

"Thanks, but we weren't trying to impress anyone."

"I know, but you're still heroes."

"You wouldn't think that if you knew why we were at the church," Pony said, laughing without humor.

Jerry shrugged. "I don't care why you were there, but you're heroes. If not to the world, me, to the other teachers, to those kids. You should've heard him, telling their parents that some super heroes saved them."

Pony smiled. "Honestly, I think Leo's the real hero. He was the one that made the decision to run inside. If he hadn't, I'm not sure if Johnny and I would've gone in."

"Well, regardless of what could have happened, you're still pretty brave."

"Thanks."

The ambulance pulled up to the hospital.

* * *

"Can I be released now?" Leo asked as they pricked him with a needle for the third time.

"I suppose," the doctor said with a curious look. "You're fine, and that's the weird thing. I'm glad, but one of the other kids said a burning beam fell on you. How are you not burned?"

Leo shrugged. "Miracle. Now, if I stay in this bed for one more second, I may just go insane."

The doctor laughed. "Well, we wouldn't want that now, would we? I am prescribing you two sets of pills. One is a pain killer for the arm; only take it when the pain is so extreme, you can barely think because theses can be addictive if taken too often. The other is for the concussion to avoid confusion, dizziness, etc. Take it every day as soon as you wake up."

"Thank you, doc. Now, I have to check on the others," Leo said before hopping up and leaving, stuffing the pills in his toolbelt once he was outside the door.

"Leo!" A blur of blonde nearly knocked him over as Ponyboy tackled him.

"Ponyboy!" He laughed, hugging back.

"Dude, you had us all worried sick!" Two Bit shouted, joining the hug, followed by the entire gang, even Steve.

"Wait. Shouldn't you be back in the burn unit, Dally?"

"You should know by now that no hospital can hold me, nor would they want to," Dally smirked.

There was only one person Leo hadn't faced.

"Darry," he said, stonily.

He was shocked to see tears in Darry's icy blue eyes.

"Leo, I am so fucking sorry," he said.

Jaws hit the floor. Pony and Soda were the only ones that had ever heard Darry cuss.

"I didn't mean what I said at all. I was pissed, and I took it out on you. But I was wrong. You're just as much our family as Ponyboy is, and you don't run away from your problems. The fact that you ran back into that church to save those kids really proves that.

"I don't expect you to be able to forgive me, but-"

"Darry," Leo interrupted. "You're already forgiven."

Darry started crying as he embraced Leo, crying into his shoulder.

When Leo pulled back, he turned to the guys.

"Guys, you're the best family I've ever had," Leo managed before he got choked up because they were. They all came here today, and Darry apologized, something no one at camp had ever done.

Steve smiled. "It's an honor," he chuckled.

"Leo?"

"Yeah, Johnny?"

"Thanks for practically throwing me out the window at that church. I mean, I could've been the one to get stuck under that beam, and I may not have been so lucky. "

Leo nodded. "No need to thank me. It's what friends do."

Two Bit barked a laugh. "Yeah, because normal friends save each other from falling, burning beams every day."

When you think about it, it does sound kind of stupid. The gang chuckled.

"Now, let's get home. I'm starving!" Leo exclaimed.

"Agreed!" The gang chorused.

But all good things must come to an end because precisely at that moment, a small, familiar voice piped up.

"Leo?"

Leo turned at the sound of his name, and his heart stopped dead in his chest.

"Harley?"

* * *

 _Oh, no. Oh, yes. I'm not really sure which one it is yet, so I'm just going to say both for now._


	11. Reunion

_Hey. Poll on profile. Message over._

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing_**

 ** _WARNINGS: LANGUAGE_**

* * *

 _Previously on We're the Outsiders_

 _But all good things must come to an end because precisely at that moment, a small, familiar voice piped up._

 _"Leo?"_

 _Leo turned at the sound of his name, and his heart stopped dead in his chest._

 _"Harley?"_

* * *

Sure enough, standing not even two yards away, were the seven, Nyssa, and little Harley.

"Leo, who are these people?" Ponyboy asked.

"I think we should be asking that question," Nyssa growled.

"Now, let's all be civil," Piper said with a smile. "I'm Piper McLean, and we are here to ask Leo Valdez, what in the name of our parents possessed you to run away from camp and drive everyone out of their minds looking for you?" She said, scarily calm.

"These are your friends?" Soda guessed.

"Yep," Leo muttered, "and they're pissed."

"Leo, why'd you run away?" Harley said, sounding like he was on the edge of crying. "You scared us. You could've been eaten by a monster or killed by a bad person."

"Monster?" Steve murmured.

"He's eight," Leo whispered back, glad that Harley had been the one to say that, and not any of the others, who were so angry that they weren't even monitoring what they were saying. "Anyway, guys-"

"No," Jason said, firmly. "Let us get all our questions out before you start talking. What was so wrong with camp? You had friends there."

"That ignored me," Leo snapped. "That let me do everything for them without a thank you. Jason, I fixed your pocket knife after it got jammed."

"Pocket knife?" Jason muttered. Piper elbowed him and gestured to the gang behind Leo.

"Frank, when your bow got splintered, I made you a new one. You thanked me by coming up to me a week later and telling me to back off your girlfriend when really, I was just being friendly.

"Annabeth, I built the... thing to save your boyfriend and reunite you two. That actually applies to both of you. You thanked me by smacking my head against a post after the Incident.

"Hazel, I tried to be friendly to you. Hell, I was the one that got Nico to eat after his Fall. You thanked me by staying away from me just because I look like Sammy.

"Pipes, we used to be best friends, but then, we met Jason. And you were always with him, kissing somewhere, leaving me with machines for company.

"Every time I tried to lighten the mood, make you laugh, you'd yell at me for not being serious. Well, guess what? I'm dead serious now. Is this what you wanted? The annoying Repair Boy off your back? The Joker finally being serious for once? Because that's sure as hell what you were saying all those months I was at camp, if not with your words, with your actions."

Leo turned to Nyssa and Harley.

"Nys, Harley, know that I didn't leave because of you. In fact, you and Jake and Chris and the whole lot of them were the only reason I stayed for so long. But let's face it, I was bound to run sooner or later. It's what I do, but I don't want you two to take this the wrong way. I found a family and friends that I have no problem with, and that hasn't happened since my mom. I think I'll be staying here if they'll have me."

"We will," Soda said. "You have a new home, and we're not going anywhere."

Leo knelt down and hugged Harley before hugging Nyssa and waving goodbye, leading the gang out the door.

"What the hell just happened?" Jason asked, his jaw on the floor.

"I have no idea," Annabeth muttered, "and that's a first."

"I think Leo just rejected you," Harley said, bluntly.

"Harley!" Nyssa hissed.

"What? You know it's true... everything Leo said is true," Harley pointed out.

'But-"

"Don't even try to defend yourself, Piper," Nyssa interrupted. "Harley's gotta point."

"But we didn't mean to-"

"You didn't have to mean to do anything. You just did it."

"Guys?"

"Yeah, Jason?"

"What about the prophecy?"

They all looked up; they'd been so worried about Leo that they hadn't even thought about the prophecy.

"Well," Annabeth began, "Fate intervened in the lives of four- that's probably Ponyboy, Johnny, and one of the other gang members. We found him before the moon made a full rotation."

"But what about the next part?" Percy asked. "It says Leo has to make a sacrifice."

"They mentioned that Leo saved Johnny and Ponyboy, risking his own life. Could that be the sacrifice?" Hazel suggested.

Jason shook his head. "I don't think so. The sacrifice sounds a lot bigger than that, and the last line makes it seem like Leo has to choose between two things."

They looked at each other. They'd found Leo Valdez; now, what?

* * *

Despite what just happened with his friends, Leo was having the time of his life.

He was in Darry's truck with Soda, Pony, and Johnny. He and his friends were laughing like crazy as they told jokes and stories from their pasts, if only to lighten the mood.

"So then, Jacob fell off his chair, falling right into Lina, who turned around to smack him, but wound up smacking Jack instead, who fell back into the counter, knocking over a bunch of boxes of cereal, which in turn knocked over the milk. This caused Emily to come in and slip, kicking a glass of juice over and having it drip onto Jacob. So you can imagine the parents' shock when they came in and saw us all covered in cereal and milk and orange juice. When they asked who did it, they all pointed at me, the jerks."

"And this all happened because you tapped Jacob on the shoulder?" Pony asked in disbelief.

"Yep. He was a paranoid little bugger. I have a picture in my bag if you wanna see it when we get back."

"Do I!" Johnny and Ponyboy laughed.

"You guys got any funny stories?" Leo asked.

Johnny and Ponyboy exchanged glances.

"Should we tell him?" Ponyboy asked.

"I think he's ready," Johnny answered.

"Don't you dare tell them about that!" Soda yelled from the front seat.

"Too bad! We're doing it anyway."

"So," Johnny began, "Ponyboy Curtis was an annoying little eight year old, but he was clever and when Soda blamed the muddy footprints in the hall on him, he wanted revenge."

"And when Two Bit," Ponyboy picked up, "posted a photo of Johnny in his underwear all over school, Johnny swore he would get justice for this heinous crime."

"So the two decided to work together," they said in unison.

"Johnny bought the hair dye, and Ponyboy dyed Soda's hair a mucus green color," Johnny said.

"Meanwhile, Johnny filled all of Two Bit's beer bottles with tomato juice instead of beer."

"You'd think Two Bit would notice that," Leo interjected.

His friends looked at him like he was dumb. "It's Two Bit," they pointed out in tandem.

Leo shrugged, deciding they made a good point.

"Then, working together, they put Soda's bed onto the roof while Soda, the ever heavy sleeper, was fast asleep," Johnny whispered.

"And Johnny told Two Bit's crush that he was gay."

"Truthfully," Johnny murmured, "I think he's bisexual, so technically, I wasn't entirely wrong."

"Then, we took pictures- lots of pictures- and posted them around school," Ponyboy laughed in a mock evil chuckle.

Leo laughed. "Nice... but the way you told that story just creeped me out."

"It does that to everybody," Pony told him, "which is why we do it."

Leo laughed.

But as I stated in the previous chapter, all good things must come to an end.

* * *

 _Oh, no, what's going to happen?! I need to know... wait. I'm writing the story. That was a dumb moment._


	12. He's Nuts (That's Putting it Lightly)

_Uh, oh. Here we go. Be prepared._

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing_**

 ** _WARNINGS: LANGUAGE_**

* * *

Everything was a little fuzzy. He remembered driving with the gang, and then... BAM. The world went dark.

Leo internally groaned. That's never good.

Leo tried to sit up, and that's when he noticed his hands were bound behind his back and his ankles were tied to the legs of a chair.

Oh, no. That's never good either.

Leo glanced around and saw only darkness; he blinked several times, but his eyes refused to adjust to the unpenetrated darkness. Whatever this blackness was, it was absolute. There were no shadows that you may find in a dark room. Only blackness.

"Hello?" He hissed, trying not to be too loud. "Anyone there?"

"Leo?" A familiar voice called.

"Pony, where are we?" Leo asked.

"I'd like to know that, too," another voice muttered.

"Dally? Who's all here?"

"I'm here!" A quiet voice mumbled.

"Johnny. Anybody else?"

Silence.

"Okay, when we were taken, the entire gang was with us," Leo said. "Where are they?"

No one had an answer.

The lights flipped on, momentarily blinding the four boys.

"Hello, Leo Valdez," an all too familiar voice drawled. "Long time, no see."

Leo blinked the spots from his vision, and his eyes zeroed in on... no way.

"No way," he growled. "You're dead."

Octavian laughed. "It did seem that way, didn't it? Everything is not always as it seems. You should know that better than anyone."

"Who is this?" Johnny demanded. "Leo?"

Now that the lights were on, Leo could see that the four of them were tied to chairs in a circle with the backs of the chairs connected. Each one of them faced a different part of the room, which was vacant, aside from a door and Octavian.

"This is Octavian," Leo snarled. "He started the turf war."

Octavian chuckled. "Turf war? I suppose you could call it that, but I prefer to call it the Civil War and the Apocalypse rolled into one."

"And who's fault is that?" Leo snapped.

Octavian shrugged. "Everything was going according to plan until you ruined it."

Leo scoffed. "According to plan? And I suppose that's why you went crazy and blew yourself up."

Octavian shrugged. "I'll admit that was not a part of the plan, but aside from that, the plan would've gone perfectly if you hadn't intervened."

"I saved our camps from getting torn apart!" Leo exclaimed. "Not to mention saving the world from Dirt Queen."

"Dirt Queen?" Ponyboy asked.

"That is a long story that I will explain when we get out of here," Leo muttered. "Now, Octavian, where are the others?"

"What others?" Octavian asked in mock ignorance.

"When you kidnapped us, there were four others with us. Where are they?"

"Oh, them," Octavian laughed, an insane glint in his eye. "They're here, too. They're alive, but they won't be for long... unless you agree to my proposal."

"What proposal?" Leo asked, gulping at the thought of Octavian killing his friends.

"We are going to wake Gaea one more."

"Gaea? Isn't that a Greek character?" Johnny questioned.

"This guy is nuts," Dally grumbled.

"That's putting it lightly," Leo said, agreeing with Dally and ignoring Johnny's question. "Waking Gaea? Do you even remember what happened last time? Hundreds died!"

Octavian shrugged. "A small price to pay for-"

"Power?" Leo snapped. "You're a power hungry moron!"

"Revenge," Octavian continued as though Leo had not spoken.

"Revenge on who? The gods, the camps, _me_?" Leo demanded. "You're risking the world for revenge?"

Octavian smiled. "Of course. It's not much different than when you risked your life to bring down Gaea. I'm risking my life to wake her."

"You're also risking the lives of billions!" Leo said. "Gaea will stop at nothing until she is the only thing in the world. You think she'll keep you around? She didn't the first time, and she won't now."

"Oh, I don't want her to keep me around," Octavian said. "I don't care if I die as long as those low life losers- The seven, Reyna, Di Angelo, the camps, the gods- as long as all of them pay!"

By the end, a hard core crazy expression was plastered across Octavian's face.

Leo's breathing picked up as panic squeezed his chest at the mere thought of Gaea returning.

"You really are crazy," Leo muttered, as though he hadn't known that months ago.

Octavian grinned. "The best people are."

"What do you need us for?" Leo questioned.

"I don't really need them. I only need you, but your little friends will be used for persuasion."

"What?" Leo asked, his voice flat and hard.

"I need you to go through this process with me, _willingly_ , and I think you'll be more than willing when you see a knife against one of their pretty little throats."

At this, Octavian ran the edge of his dagger under Ponyboy's chin.

"What do I need to do?" Leo asked.

He wouldn't really do it (did you expect him to?), but he needed to buy himself some time.

Octavian smiled. "That's more like it."

Octavian cut Leo free, and Leo went to use his powers, but as soon as he tried, he crumpled to the dirt in extreme pain.

"Oh, don't even try to use those powers of yours," Octavian sneered as he tapped a previously unnoticed collar around Leo's neck. "That collar prevents the use of your powers."

Leo shakily stood and followed Octavian out of the room, watching as the blonde pressed a button on a remote and the lights in the room sputtered out. Octavian shut the door, leaving Johnny, Dally, and Pony in the dark room, before shoving Leo forward.

"Walk, scum," he hissed.

Leo dragged his feet as much as he dared as he tried to think of a plan.

What could he do? What could he do? WHAT COULD HE DO?

Leo was beginning to panic (oh, who was he kidding? He'd been panicking for a while).

"Don't even bother," Octavian sneered as though reading Leo's mind. "There's no way out of this."

The pair marched through several more hallways, and Leo attempted to get his bearings. If he could find out where they were, then he could think of an escape plan.

The hallways were made of dirt, meaning they were obviously underground. There didn't seem to be any ladders or doors or staircases. There weren't even very many doors. Just endless winding hallways.

Finally, they came to another door, and Octavian opened it.

Leo's eyes widened.

In the center of the room, there was an alter that was already covered with blood. Corpses piled in the corners, resulting in the stench of death. A ladder extended upward, climbing out of the earth in the only corner devoid of dead bodies.

"What..." Leo stammered.

Octavian shrugged. "The process called for an enemy of the Earth Mother. I tried a dozen enemies before realizing that it couldn't just be _any_ enemy. It had to be her number one enemy. Bet you never thought you'd be number one, did you, Valdez?"

Leo wanted to throttle the guy right there, but Octavian anticipated his move and pressed another button on his remote.

Pain rushed through Leo's body, starting at his neck and stretching its fingers all the way to the tips of his toes. Electricity arced through his body, resulting in Leo thrashing and seizing in an attempt to escape the awful pain.

Octavian laughed. "Oh, did I forget to mention that your collar also causes severe pain whenever I press that button? Silly me."

Octavian pressed the button, and the pain automatically stopped, leaving Leo in a sweaty, panting, trembling mess on the floor.

Octavian kicked him in the ribs.

"Pathetic," the legacy of Apollo sneered. "Get up."

Leo stumbled to his feet, and Octavian grabbed him by the collar, dragging him to the alter.

Octavian shoved Leo onto the alter, and Leo tripped, landing hard on his back. When Leo tried to stand, he couldn't move. It was like he was glued to the alter, and Octavian's finger resting on a button on the remote explained that. Was there anything that stupid remote _couldn't_ do?

Leo was out of options, out of ideas.

Octavian raised the knife...

"I'm sorry," Leo whispered, apologizing to the world, his friends, the seven, the camps, even the gods.

Octavian brought the knife down.

Leo closed his eyes and waited to die.

* * *

 _What have I done?_


	13. Sacrifice, He Must Make

_I was going to make you wait, but I'm not that cruel. I'm not Rick Riordan (the troll, throwing Percabeth into Tarturas and then making us wait for the next book!)_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing_**

 ** _WARNINGS: SOME BLOOD. THAT'S ABOUT IT_**

* * *

A dull thud sounded as Octavian collapsed.

Leo opened his eyes and saw Dally standing over him with a pocket knife in his hand.

"The idiot forgot to check if we had weapons," he said with a weak smile, but Dally's eyes kept darting towards the bodies in the corner. Some things disturb even the most immovable of people.

Ponyboy helped Leo stand, the spell or whatever it was having broken with Octavian's injury.

"How did you guys..." Leo began, too shocked to finish.

Johnny shrugged, holding up his own blade.

"Bit of teamwork," he responded.

"We have to find the others," Pony said.

"Not so fast," a growl sounded from behind them, and an alarm began to blare.

The four of them whipped around to see Octavian, his eyes only half open and blood gushing down his back, lying on the ground with his finger resting on a button on his remote.

Once again, was there anything that blasted remote _couldn't_ do?

Dally cursed. "What do we do?"

Leo took a deep breath. "All right, you three, go find the others. I'll hold off the guards."

"What?" Johnny squawked.

"You can't do that by yourself," Ponyboy said.

"This place is huge," Leo stressed. "Find the others and get back here as quickly as possible."

There was no more time to argue. The three gang members raced off.

They hadn't been gone thirty seconds before dozens of monsters rushed inside the room.

Leo tugged at the collar, but it refused to come loose, so he did the next best thing. He picked up Octavian's dagger and rushed into battle with no plan whatsoever.

Leo was a machine. He slashed and dodged and rolled and stabbed without really thinking about anything, but it didn't take long for his energy to begin abandoning him.

One more shot...

Leo focused every ounce of his energy on his powers, and he felt heat rush from the tips of his fingers to his toes and forehead and chest and every area of his body the heat could reach.

The collar cracked and fell to the floor, and flames exploded off of Leo's body.

Waves of fire rolled off of Leo's skin and devoured the monsters, turning all but the Cyclopses (Cyclopi?) to dust. Leo quickly stabbed the Cyclopses, and the flames surrounding him died.

It was only then that Leo felt the sheer exhaustion wash over him. He hadn't had to summon fire that intense since he defeated Gaea, and that had killed him.

With that horrible realization, Leo collapsed.

* * *

Ponyboy found the others easily enough. Johnny, Dally, and himself checked every room as they ran down the hallways. Luckily for them, every guard seemed to have answered the alarm and abandoned their posts. That wasn't exactly lucky for Leo, though.

The third room Pony checked, he found Steve, Two Bit, and his brothers.

The four of them were tied to chairs in a circle with their backs facing each other.

"If Joker over here would stop moving so much, I might be getting somewhere!" Steve snapped.

"Well, if Stevie would stop complaining, we'd _all_ be getting somewhere," Two Bit pointed out.

"You two need to stop arguing," Darry ordered. "Now, on the count of three, pull!"

"Three!" Soda yelled, abruptly, and the four tugged at their wrists, which only resulted in teetering and tipping on the legs of their chairs, coming dangerously close to falling.

"Dang it," Soda muttered.

"Do you guys need some help?" Ponyboy asked.

The four of them whipped their heads around, and their faces stretched into relieved smiles. Even Steve was grinning at the notorious 'tag along.'

"Pony!" Darry gasped. "Untie us."

Ponyboy didn't need to be told twice. He dashed forward, calling for Johnny and Dally over his shoulder, and he tugged at the ropes on Darry's wrists until they loosened and fell to the ground. He left Darry to untie his ankles and moved onto Soda. It didn't take long before Johnny and Dally joined him and started pulling at the ropes on Two Bit and Steve.

Thirty seconds later, the four Greasers were free, and the gang raced back towards the room where they'd left Leo.

It wasn't a pretty sight.

The room was utterly destroyed, everything having been burnt beyond recognition. Golden dust coated the floor, and in the corner of the room, Leo Valdez was lying on the floor, unmoving.

The gang raced forward, and Darry hurried to take Leo's pulse.

He sighed in relief. "He's alive, but we need to get him to a hospital."

ROAAR!

The eight boys jolted in surprise and whirled to face the door.

"What was that?" Soda squeaked. (Can you blame him?)

"I don't know," Dally muttered, "but I'm not sticking around to find out."

Dally tossed Leo over his shoulder and began climbing the ladder with the other gang members on his heels.

* * *

"How are we going to make it up to Leo?" Jason muttered.

"I don't think we can," Percy replied, truthfully.

"So what do we do?" Piper demanded. "Just give up and go home?"

Annabeth shrugged. "That's what Leo wants us to do. Maybe we could try again next summer. Give Leo some time to cool down. Maybe he'll even come back on his own."

The rest of the quest members chewed on that for a moment before Nyssa stood up from the bench and slung her bag over shoulder.

"Annabeth's right," she said. "We need to get back to camp. As Co-Head Councilor, I can't leave Jake hanging for long."

No one was happy with this decision, so they all stood, ready to head for the bus stop, but at that moment, Two Bit Matthews ran up to them.

"Hey, you're Leo's friends, right?" He gasped, looking like he'd run all the way from across town.

Percy nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"He's in the hospital. Again."

At that moment, any thoughts and plans of returning to camp flew out the window.

"Why?" Frank demanded. "What happened?"

"We got kidnapped," Two Bit explained. "Long story. Anyway, Leo fought off the guards while Ponyboy, Dally, and Johnny found the rest of us. When we got back to him, he was unconscious. The doctors rushed him into the ER."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Harley snapped, giving Two Bit a very intimidating glare of death. "Take us to him."

Two Bit led the way back to the hospital, and when they arrived in the waiting room, they found the rest of Leo's gang sitting in a mostly empty room, looking incredibly anxious.

No one said a word. They all seated themselves and waited for the doctor to give them a shred of news.

* * *

Hours passed.

Jason got them all drinks around the one hour mark.

They took a bathroom break around the two hour mark.

At the three hour mark, Piper tried to get everyone to eat something, even though none of them felt like eating, not even Percy (I know, surprise).

The fourth hour found Annabeth pacing, and Jason's fingers sparking. The water fountain kept leaking as Percy's emotions controlled his powers. Gems were popping up around Hazel's feet. Piper had to refrain from talking because she could no longer control her charm speak. Frank even turned into a bunny rabbit (thank goodness no one saw that).

Finally, the fifth hour arrived, and a doctor approached.

"Who is here for Leo Valdez?" He asked.

A good ninety percent of the waiting room stood, surprising the doctor.

"Okay..." He muttered. "Leo Valdez displays no outward physical injuries. He does have low energy, an extremely high fever, and a rapid heart rate, but beyond that, no injuries outside of the broken wrist and concussion, which he came in here with."

Everyone sighed in relief.

"There is one more thing."

Everyone's heads jerked up.

"What?" Steve demanded.

The doctor sighed. "For unknown reasons, Leo Valdez slipped into a coma."

Jaws hit the floor, and several burst into tears (even Johnny and Darry shed be few) when the doctor forced himself to say the next statement.

"There's no telling when or _if_ he will wake up."

* * *

 _Leo maxed out his abilities and that put him into a coma. Will he live? Will he die? Only Fate can decide how this quest will end._

 _Well... as the author, I do actually. You'll have to wait until tomorrow (or later today where I'm at since it is 1 am) to find out Leo's fate._


	14. To Wake Up or To Not Wake Up

_I'm back. I wanted this chapter to be longer, but I didn't want to leave you guys in suspense any longer than I had to._

 _Thank you to the people who have voted on the poll, but I'd still appreciate some more votes._

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing_**

* * *

One month.

Four weeks.

Thirty days.

Seven hundred and twenty hours.

Forty-three thousand and two hundred minutes.

That was how long Leo Valdez had been in a coma.

Nico had shadow traveled to Oklahoma to return Nyssa and Harley to camp (which severely ticked off the youngest mechanic), and the seven had remained in Oklahoma. When they weren't sleeping at the hospital, Darry allowed the seven to spend the nights at his house.

The gang and the seven didn't speak to each other much, despite occupying the same house for the majority of the time.

Neither trusted the other, but they had come to a temporary agreement not to kill each other or interrogate each other until Leo woke up. If Leo didn't wake up... well, no one really knew what to do if that was the case.

One day, Annabeth was sitting by Leo's bedside. They'd come to the agreement that at least one person would sit beside Leo at all times in case he were to wake up. Ponyboy, Johnny, Steve, and Two Bit were at school; Darry and Soda were at work; at least two demigods stood outside the hospital to watch for monsters (not many monsters were willing to tangle with six of the seven all at once, but seven demigods still attracted a lot of monsters). Currently, Piper and Jason were outside; Percy and Frank were attempting to get Hazel to eat down in the cafeteria (she'd barely eaten since Leo was put into the coma).

That left Annabeth on watch, but she didn't mind. She gripped Leo's hand in her's, and she tried and failed to fight back a couple of tears from falling down her cheeks.

"He is happy here, you know."

Annabeth whipped around and found Darry staring back at her from the doorway. She quickly scrubbed her eyes and turned back to Leo.

"What do you mean?" She asked, not looking at the older man. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

Darry shrugged, coming further into the room. "I'm on my lunch break. The boss knows my friend's in the hospital, so he gives me a longer lunch break to come visit him."

Darry sat beside Leo's bed, gazing at Leo's still, pale body, his eyes traveling over the many tubes and needles and machines to land on Leo's unopened eyes.

"As for what I mean, I mean what I said. He is happy here."

Darry looked at Annabeth and waited for her to meet his eyes.

"I just want Leo to be happy. If that means him returning to your camp, so be it. If that means him staying here... fine. I just want him to be happy."

Hearing Darry say that... it meant a lot to Annabeth.

They'd been selfish. They'd wanted Leo to come home so badly, they almost forgot to think about what he wanted. No wonder he ran away. He was sefless, but everyone had a right to be selfish at times. If a person was always selfless, they'd break, like humans do in times like those. Leo had a right to be selfish right now; the rest of them didn't.

Annabeth nodded. "I want him to be happy, too," she whispered.

Darry refused to look at her, and when he finally spoke, Annabeth felt even worse.

"Than act like it."

* * *

Camp was oddly quiet without Leo, Nyssa found.

When Nyssa and Harley returned to camp, they were shocked by the quiet atmosphere; it was the closest thing to silence she'd ever heard in the camp. It was always chaotic and lively; even in the winter, there was _some_ noise. Not this... this uneasy quiet.

"It's been like that since you guys left," Nico said. "Nobody really realized how much Leo contributed to the chaos around here. Without him, the Stolls won't pull any pranks. If the Stolls won't pull pranks, nobody's yelling at them. Some are so... sad or guilty over Leo's disappearing act that they don't really talk. I guess the saying is true: you don't know how much you love someone until they're gone."

"Thanks for the pearl of wisdom," Nyssa stated, dryly.

"It is true, though," Harley told her before stomping off toward the forges.

"It really is," Nyssa muttered. "I have to go find Jake."

The quiet didn't fade after the news about Leo being in a coma circulated around camp. If anything, the camp only got quieter.

Nyssa hoped Leo would wake up soon. She couldn't stand the quiet anymore.

* * *

"Any monsters?" Piper asked she scanned the land outside the hospital.

Jason shrugged in disbelief. "None. It's been a month. How is that possible? I mean, I'm not complaining, but-" Jason stopped as he continued searching the grounds once more

Piper sighed and flipped her hair out of her eyes. Without the bothersome brown hair in her face, she was able to see the man.

Don't get me wrong, there were tons of men outside the hospital, but this man really stood out.

He was short with a trimmed beard and wearing a T-shirt and jeans. That wasn't what made the man stand out, though.

The man was covered in boils. He was horribly disfigured, and his skin was blotchy and red, like someone had repeatedly wacked him across the face with a hammer.

"I know why," Piper whispered to Jason, who followed her gaze. His eyes landed on the man, who nodded, glanced up at the hospital (the window where Leo's room was, to be specific), and vanished.

"Hephaestus," Jason murmured. "Leo's father."

"And who said the gods were _all_ neglectful?" Piper smiled.

* * *

Ponyboy sat in the chair beside Leo's bed. He was the only one there; everyone thought that each of them should have some time alone with the comatose boy, and it was Ponyboy's turn.

"Hey, Leo," he whispered. "Been a long time since you said hello back."

Ponyboy really didn't know what to say.

"Look here, Valdez," he snapped. "You'd better not die on me. You did not survive the fire just to die now."

Of course, there was no response.

"We all miss you," Ponyboy said. "Darry cried. I think even Dally cried, but he'll never admit it, and he'll never cry in front of us. I haven't even mentioned your camp friends yet.

"Just... Leo, so many people care about you. You can't just _leave_."

Ponyboy broke down into tears, sobbing and burying his head in the sheets.

Ponyboy was so tired of people dying when he needed them the most.

A hand ran up and down Ponyboy's back in an attempt to comfort him.

Ponyboy froze. No way.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily," a familiar voice laughed, weakly.

 _Leo._

* * *

 _Leo's alive and awake. Now, the question is: will he stay with the Outsiders gang or return to camp? You have to wait for chapter fifteen, also the final chapter._

 _If you're sad about the story ending, don't worry. I will be writing a few one shots in this universe. If you have not followed me, do so, so that you don't miss out when I start posting those._

 _And I hope I did my math right in the beginning. I'm not too good at math. My worst subject is science, but math is right in front of it, if you know what I mean._

 _Thank you for the wonderful reviews!_


	15. Let's Go Home

_This is the epilogue, guys. Sorry I kept you in suspense. I've been working on a lot of different projects for fanfiction (most of which will be posted on Halloween). It is supposed to be a short chapter, but I honestly like this one the best. That's my opinion, though. Tell me what you think in the reviews._

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders or the Heroes of I did, I'd probably never have to work again._**

* * *

Leo hugged Piper so tightly, she was lifted off of the ground.

"I'm going to miss you so much!" He exclaimed.

Leo had decided that he would no longer be a year round camper. He would return every summer, as most of the campers did. The rest of the year, he would stay in Tulsa.

Piper laughed. "We'll see you next summer, Repair Boy."

"So? That still feels like _forever_!" Leo exclaimed, setting Piper down, only to be pulled into an embrace by Jason.

"Tell me about it," the son of Jupiter snorted.

"GROUP HUG!" Percy cried, dragging every member of the seven into an embrace.

When they parted, Annabeth turned to Leo.

"Well, Leo," Annabeth stated with a sad smile. "I'm going to miss our jenga compitions."

"Oh, trust me, Annabeth." Leo replied with a chuckle. "We're going to have tons more in June to make up for the lost time."

Annabeth hugged Leo, and when she pulled away, Percy patted Leo on the back.

"I'm gonna miss you, Valdez," Percy sighed.

"Back at you, Jackson," Leo replied, smacking his hand against Percy's in a hand shake and pulling Percy into a back slap/hug.

"What is with guys and their handshakes?" Hazel asked the girls, who both shrugged to say they had no idea.

"See you next summer," Hazel said, giving Leo a hug. "Watch out for monsters."

(Yes, Leo did tell the Outsiders gang about demigods and monsters. You do not _want_ to know how long that took him)

"I will, Haze, and Frank better treat you nicely because if he doesn't, Nico's going to come get me, and he'll have _all_ of your brothers on his case."

Hazel giggled. "All of my brothers? I only have one."

"No, you have four. Nico, me, Percy, and Jason, not to mention the two sisters you've got there," Leo corrected, pointing at Annabeth and Piper.

Hazel nodded. "I'm sure you don't have to worry," she said, but they could tell she was immensely touched.

Hazel stepped back, and Frank shuffled his feet.

"Uh, Leo," he stuttered. "I know we haven't always been the best of friends, but... I'm..."

"I'm going to miss you, too, big guy," Leo interrupted before surprising everyone when he hugged Frank. "Take care of Hazel."

When Leo pulled away, he turned to Jason.

"Oh, and Jason... take care of my sister. I don't care if she doesn't like me fighting her battles for her. If you hurt her, you'll be in the Infirmary with some first degree burns."

Jason blinked and nodded, hurriedly, while Piper smiled at Leo calling her his sister.

"I guess this is goodbye for now," Leo said, awkwardly.

"For now," Percy repeated. "We'll see you next summer. IM any time."

Leo nodded. "You guys can visit any time you like. Oh, and tell Harley, I'll come back for his ninth birthday."

Annabeth laughed. "We will. We'll also tell him what a great brother you are, always thinking of him."

Leo rolled his eyes, waving his hand in a dismissive manner.

"Stop it," he said in a false embarrassed voice.

The seven gave each other one last group hug before six of them stepped onto the bus and waved from the windows of the departing vehicle.

Ponyboy and Johnny appeared, clapping Leo on the shoulders, as they stared after the bus.

"You gonna be okay without them?" Ponyboy asked.

"You guys seem pretty tight," Johnny added.

"We are," he said, answering Johnny's question. "I'll be all right. I've got you guys and the rest of the gang."

Leo gave the bus one last look before the sadness vanished from his face, replaced by a smile as he turned to his friends, and said a single sentence that made Johnny and Pony smile as well:

"Let's go home."

* * *

 _Did you like the ending? That was my favorite part because Leo finally has a home. He hasn't had one since he was eight, unless you count camp, but since Leo ran away, I don't really count it._

 _Also, for those of you that want to see Leo tell the Outsiders about demigods and monsters and whatnot, I will be posting a one shot about that sometime after Halloween. If you have not followed me, make sure to do so. You don't want to miss out._


End file.
